


It Won't Be The Same Again

by Lila11



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Light Angst, but it will get better, there will be flashbacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:47:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23765587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lila11/pseuds/Lila11
Summary: Im Nayeon was perfectly fine living her life 11,203 km away from Seoul until an opportunity she had been wishing for, but never really expected, compelled her to go back home.Myoi Mina had perfected the out of sight, out of mind mantra for six years until the person that should've been out of her sight came back and started messing with her head.
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Myoui Mina, Minatozaki Sana/Myoui Mina
Comments: 112
Kudos: 120





	1. Six years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's unbeta-ed but I'm hoping you guys will enjoy the story.  
> Please excuse the errors.

Why is she back in Korea again? _Oh, right, this house._

She looks around at the empty living room as she remembers the first time she had walked inside – more like trespassed – this old house 

She was on an evening stroll, trying her best to cool her head after having an argument with her mother. _Why does everything in my life suck?_ She was busy kicking anything and everything in her path when she felt a raindrop on her nose followed by a rather loud thunder.

For a split second, she considered running back home but she had too much pride for that. _No, fuck it._ Realizing that she was almost at end of their neighborhood, she knew that there was only one place she could take cover from. 

It was called The Creepy House at the End of the Road for obvious reasons. 

A lot of the kids she knew told crazy stories about this abandoned house so it was a surprise to see how beautiful the interior was. It wasn't like any of the usual scary ones she'd seen in the movies. There was still some furniture covered in white linens in the living room area. Any 17-year-old girl would've felt scared being alone inside this house on that stormy Saturday evening, but not her. She liked it. It was peaceful. So on that moment, she decided that this will be her own secret place anytime she needed to be away from people – which were all the time. 

It was because of this house that she decided to take up engineering for college. She wanted to rebuild this house and bring back its former glory. Of course, she'd have to buy the property first. And having a head full of pride, she was not about to ask help from her mother. She stopped spending her trust funds on meaningless night outs and started asking around about the owner. Unfortunately, the house was never put up for sale.

Until six months ago, when her mother called in the middle of the night to tell her that the house is finally on the market. She was so excited that she immediately contacted the owner and sent in her offer. It didn't matter that it was 2 AM in New York and that she was still half asleep, nothing's going to stop her from getting that house. Only when she won the property bidding that she realized getting the house also meant returning to the place she swore to never go back to.

***

She hadn't set foot in Korea since she graduated from college and that was about six years ago. 

"I don't understand why you want to stay here." Her mother said as she walked into the room carrying a folded mat. "You can always sleep in your old bedroom. I kept it clean."

"Mom, my bedroom can't fit three people in. And I'm only staying here just for a night, you know, just to get the feel of the house." She chuckled while folding pulling off the covers of the dining table. "They're both staying at the hotel, anyway. JayJay can't be exposed to fine dust on his first trip to Korea."

"What time do they arrive?"

“I'll pick them up in two hours. Want to come?"

"Of course. I miss that little boy." Her mother beamed. "It's been a year since I last saw him. Is he starting to pick up more of your antics?"

"He's getting better at it." She smirks. "Jackson hates it." 

"As he should." Her mother pointed out. "But you have to drop me off at the salon after. I need to make sure my appointment is set for this Monday. I'm getting my hair done." 

"Please tell me you're not going for another bold color like the last time you did that talk at the uni. I can't have people I didn't even know tag me on your videos online."

"I wish." Her mother laughs. "No, it’s for a wedding. The chair of the school board invited everyone to their daughter's wedding. Oh, I believe you know her. Myoi Mina. She was in your batch." 

Nayeon felt like being choked with the way all the air in her lungs escaped her body. She started coughing.

"Aigoo. I told you to wear a mask with all this dust inside this house. Let me get you one. Hold on." Her mother said before walking out.

Now that's a name Nayeon never thought she'd hear on her first day back. 

Why did she leave Korea again? _Oh, right, Mina._

***

_Finally_ , Mina thought after she rummaged through the clutter in her parents' attic. She didn't think it'll take her over an hour just to find what she was looking for. She carefully wipes the dust off before opening the black shoe box. 

The last time she wore these ballet shoes was when she did a Black Swan adaptation in college junior year. Hopeful that the shoes would still fit, she picks them up but something else catches her attention.

Tucked inside the box is a Polaroid photo that seemed to have already faded with time.

She looks closely and sudden waves of memories come rushing through her mind.

Memories of the girl who rocked her world and took her heart out for a roller coaster ride of emotions. Memories she doesn't need to revisit now that she's a few weeks away from being someone's wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this idea for quite some time and did this primarily for myself. Lols.  
> Started out as a drabble and it's now a full blown au.  
> 


	2. Coffee mugs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still unbeta-ed.  
> :)

Six years. 

A lot has happened in the last six years.

Maybe a surprise visit to an old friend might help her get up to speed with everything that has been going on in Seoul. _Just as long as I stay away from one topic, it should be good._ Nayeon thought as she browsed through the café’s lunch menu.

She’s deciding whether to order rice or bread when she feels a tug on her side. Looking down to her right, she smiles at the little boy pulling on the hem of her coat. 

“Did you see something you like, sweetie?” Nayeon reached down to pinch his little nose. 

“Yes. There.” The little boy pointed with his hand that’s also holding a small rabbit plushie. 

Nayeon looks over and sees a rack of sweets a few feet away from them. “We talked about this before, right?” She kneels down to fix little Jayjay’s collar. “What do you need to do so you can have desserts?” 

“Be a good boy.”

“And what do good boys do?”

“Eat green. And fish. And rice.” Jayjay recites proudly.

“That’s right.” Nayeon pokes his cute little nose. “So we’ll get lunch first, then we’ll buy that cake you want, okay?” 

“Okay.” Jayjay nods and gives Nayeon two thumbs up.

Nayeon stands back up and smiles fondly at the boy who’s now clinging on her left leg like a koala. She is rustling JayJay’s soft hair when a voice called out from the other side of the counter. 

“Hello, what can I get –“ 

A gasp. 

“Nayeon unnie?!” 

“Hi, Tzuyu-ya.” Nayeon grins. 

Tzuyu runs out of the counter and attacks Nayeon with a bear hug. This caught Nayeon off guard. Tzuyu had never been into this kind of skinship but well, it has been six years, people change. 

“Unnie! I can’t believe you’re here already!” Tzuyu pulls back but keeps her hold on the older girl’s arms. “You told me your flight is on Friday.” 

“Yeah, I did that to throw you off.” Nayeon shrugs. “I know you’re going to be so excited and I didn’t want you to pick me up from the airport.” 

“I didn’t plan on doing that. You’re not worth the one hour drive.” 

“Right.” 

Tzuyu lets go of Nayeon and noticed the little boy who’s hiding behind the older girl’s leg. “Oh, hi there little prince.” She cocks her head to the side and smiles.

With the rabbit plushie secured in one arm and the other still clinging onto Nayeon’s leg, Jayjay slowly peaks his head out to look at the tallest girl he’d ever seen. 

“Jayjay, say hi to your Auntie Tzuyu.” Nayeon encouraged. 

Jayjay looks at Nayeon, then back to Tzuyu. “Hello.” He greets her bowing his head. “My name is Jayjay. I’m four years old.” 

Nayeon chuckles at the way he struggles on holding out four of his fingers without dropping his plushie.

“Hi Jayjay, I’m your _noona_.” Tzuyu corrected Nayeon who just started laughing loudly. The Taiwanese beauty had to bend much lower than usual to meet the little boy’s eyes. “You’re so cute. Are you hungry? Do you want any cake?” 

Jayjay’s eyes light up. 

“Tzuyu-ya, he can’t have any sweets yet.” Nayeon said, playfully pushing her away. “We want to have a healthy lunch first.” 

“Copy that.” Tzuyu gives Nayeon a salute, a mannerism she’s acquired back in college and had never been able to shake off. “You came to the right place. All the ingredients we use are organic, even for our pastry and cakes.” 

This action brings Nayeon back to her college years too. An image of a younger Tzuyu, along with two other girls the Taiwanese was _forced_ to hang out with, giving her the same salute flashed in her mind. Nayeon wonders how that wacky duo is doing nowadays. 

“Let me get your orders and I’ll bring them up to your table. Then we can catch up.”

“That’ll be great.”

“And it’s on the house.”

“No, you don’t have to.” 

“It’s alright.” Tzuyu raises a hand to dismiss Nayeon’s objection. “You’re here. In my café. For the first time. Let me do this, unnie.”

A sigh. “Alright.” Nayeon gives in. “But just this once, okay?” 

Tzuyu nods happily. She smiles at the little boy who had already moved to cling on Nayeon’s other leg. “Do you want some milkshake too, Jayjay?” 

Jayjay nods excitedly as he pulls on Nayeon’s coat.

Nayeon decides to pick him up before he starts using her legs as a jungle gym. “What do you say to _noona_?” Emphasizing on the honorific, as Tzuyu rolls her eyes. 

“Thank you, noona.” 

Tzuyu pinches Jajyjay’s chubby cheeks before walking back behind the counter.

***

_Tzu’s_ is one of the popular hangout places in Seoul that offers organic and healthy meals at affordable prices. What started out as a small pastry stall in the streets of Hongdae had evolved into a full blown cafe that now also offers catering services for intimate gatherings. Being a foodie, Tzuyu couldn’t imagine a better type of business other than the one she has now. 

Nayeon had always teased Tzuyu about the lack of creativity when she chose the name for her café. But they both know how proud she was of her giant baby’s achievement that she even offered her own engineering services when the café was being built. 

They chose to sit at the table near the kitchen and counter area so it’ll be easier for the young café owner to get up whenever she’s needed. Lunch was peaceful since little Jayjay didn't throw any tantrums. After they finish their meals, and with Nayeon’s permission, Tzuyu asked one of her trusted staff to take Jayjay into the kitchen so he can see how they make cakes. This gives the old friends the opportunity to talk. 

“I would’ve prepared your favorite had I known you’d be here today. You know it’s not easy to get Beijing ducks.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon so you’ll have time to get that duck for me.” Nayeon takes a sip of the Jayjay’s leftover milkshake. 

“So how are you, unnie?” 

Nayeon frowns, that’s an unusual question coming from Tzuyu. “We talk all the time. Besides my mom, you’re the only person who knew what I’ve been doing since I left.” 

“I mean, how do you feel about being back here?” Tzuyu elaborated. 

“Well, It’s good. So far.” Nayeon leans back into her seat. “I’ll be busy with the house. Getting work permits and meeting all the requirements before renovations can actually start.” 

“I still can’t believe you finally got it. Remember the first time you told me about it and took me to that house?” Tzuyu reminisced. “I thought you were pulling a prank on me. You know, tell me the house was haunted and then leave me there alone.” 

“That was the plan. If you weren’t so brave, I would’ve succeeded in scaring you.” Nayeon sighs. “It still feels surreal, you know, almost ten years of dreaming and it’s finally mine. I got the house.” 

“You did.” Tzuyu leans in and furrows her brows, staring at her older friend.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m just really happy to see you again, in person and not just on the screen of my phone.” Tzuyu says this without changing the expressions on her face. “And I’m so glad you brought the little bunny with you.” 

“He’s been wanting to see you since you showed him that cupcake last time we were on Facetime.” 

“It’s not my fault he takes after your love for sweets.” 

Nayeon chuckles as she checks on a notification that popped up on her phone.

__

*

**Mother:**

Dinner at the house tonight.

I already told Jackson.

*

“Unnie?” Tzuyu starts.

“Hmm?” Nayeon hummed as she types a quick reply to her mother. _"OK.”_

“Nothing.” Tzuyu shakes her head. 

Nayeon looks up and squints at the girl in front of her. She can see that Tzuyu’s struggling with something but she opted to wait. One thing she had learned about the younger girl is to never rush her. Tzuyu organizes her thoughts first before saying anything out loud.

Nayeon watched as Tzuyu opened her mouth again to say something but then stopped. 

“Tzuyu-ya…“ Nayeon groans, putting the phone back on the table, she doesn’t have much patience anyway. “Just ask the question already.”

Tzuyu sits up straight. “Do you want the others to know you’re back?”

Of course, this question would pop up. She’s actually impressed that it took over an hour before Tzuyu brought it up. 

“Not yet.” Nayeon squints. “Unless you already told them.” 

“No. I didn’t tell anybody.” Tzuyu raises her hands up in defence. 

And Nayeon believes her. It had been an unwritten rule between them that the younger girl doesn’t mention anything about anyone from their college circle of friends unless Nayeon asks. They have talked about the other girls but there's one person in particular that had never been brought up in any of their conversations. 

But she knows it’s only just a matter of time before word gets out about Im Nayeon returning to Seoul after disappearing for almost six years. 

Just then, a female staff approached their table and bowed. 

“Miss Chou? Your 3 PM appointment is here.” The staff quietly said.

 _What? Oh, shit they’re early._ Tzuyu panicked. “Oh! Uh, please tell them to wait for me in the showroom.” The Taiwanese tried to sound calm. 

“I’ll prepare the showroom. Ms. Minatozaki and her fiancé are by the counter.” The staff pointed and bowed again before leaving.

Tzuyu look at the counter which is a few feet away from where she and Nayeon were seated and her heart beat starts to race. She's not someone who easily gets nervous when something unexpected happens but this is something she had not thought of. She internally prays that her staff can get the showroom ready before they see her and – 

“Tzuyu-ya!”

Nayeon froze. _I know that voice._ She gulps. _No way. There’s no way she’d be here too._ She looks at Tzuyu who is now giving her an apologetic look which only confirms her suspicions. _Fuck, it is her._

Against her better judgement, Nayeon turns around in her seat and sees two women standing by the counter waving at Tzuyu. One has short brown hair and a pointed nose. The other has long blonde hair and looked like she’d seen a ghost. 

_Blonde. She’s blonde._

There was an awkward moment of silence until Tzuyu grabs Nayeon’s hand. Getting pulled back to reality, Nayeon shakes her head and turns back around to sit properly. 

“I’ll be right there with you, Mina unnie.” Tzuyu calls out without letting go of Nayeon’s hand. 

Mina, who’s still in shock, nods at Tzuyu. 

Tzuyu leans closer to Nayeon. “Unnie, I didn’t know they’d arrive early today. I didn’t know you’d show up and I totally forgot about them.” 

“Hey, it’s okay. I did come unannounced so…”

 _Wait, the staff did say that Zakizaki lady is here with her fiancé, right? Did she mean Mina? Is she the fiancé? Mom said Chairman Myoi’s daughter is getting married. Fuck. Mina is getting married! To her? To a woman? What? This is too much, I need to –_

A squeal is heard as Jayjay comes running out of the kitchen and crashes into Nayeon’s lap, carrying a small box. Nayeon immediately welcomes the distraction the little boy brings. 

“They have many many cupcakes in there.” Jayjay jumps up and down in excitement. 

“Oh do they? How many did you get?” Nayeon wipes the icing smudge off his chin. He’s obviously done more than watch the bakers make cake. 

“Three.” He holds three fingers up. ”One for me.” He points to his chest. “One for Papa.” He points at Nayeon’s chest. “Big one for you. You are my favorite.” He exclaimed. 

Nayeon choked up. She’s pretty sure Mina heard that. Heck the entire café might’ve heard him with the way he was screaming. 

“Such a sweet boy.” Nayeon kissed the top of his head. _Calm down, Nayeon_. “What do you say to noona?” 

“Thank you, noona.” 

“You’re welcome, Jayjay. You can always come here for more, okay?” 

The little boy nods and even goes to give Tzuyu a short hug. Tzuyu chuckles and softly pinches his cheeks. 

“We better go.” Nayeon said. “Thanks again, Tzuyu-ya. I’ll talk to you later.” 

Tzuyu gives her hand another squeeze before they both stand up as if to say _Sorry, unnie_. To which the older girl nods to say _Don’t worry about it._

Nayeon can feel Mina watching as she helps Jayjay into his jacket. The little boy insisted of carrying his cupcake box while holding on to Nayeon with this other hand. Her steps become heavier the closer they get to the exit since Mina and the brown haired woman haven’t left the counter yet.

“Excuse me please. Thank you.” Jayjay shouted with his cute little voice to make sure that his cupcake box doesn’t bump into anything or anyone. 

“So cute.”

 _Don’t look, Nayeon. Just keep walking._

“I changed my mind, Darling. I want a baby boy now.” Followed by a series of giggles. 

Before she can stop herself, Nayeon looked up and was immediately met by Mina’s gaze. _Fuck, was she waiting for me to look at her?_

Six years.

Six years had passed and yet the effect the younger Japanese has on her has not changed. Nayeon clears her throat and forces herself to smile at the brown haired woman who started waving to little Jayjay. The way she clings on to Mina’s arm makes it easy for Nayeon to spot the shiny ring perfectly situated on her left hand.

 _Run, Nayeon. Just run out of here._

“Bye bye.” The brown haired woman calls out and Jayjay gives her a quick wave. Nayeon gives them a small bow before walking out of the door, not missing the curious way Mina was looking at her.

***

She missed this view from the Im Penthouse. She spent many nights hanging out here in the terrace when she was younger, just watching the city lights flicker through the night until the sun comes out. A lot of people love the sunset, Nayeon loves the sunrise. She likes the way everything starts to feel warmer once the first ray of light hits it. 

That’s why she made sure that new design for The Creepy House’s new master bedroom would give her the best view of each new morning. 

“Are you going to stay here til sunrise?” 

Nayeon shrugged at Jackson as he joined her. 

“Your mom’s already put Jayjay to sleep so I guess you’re both staying here tonight.” 

“Yeah.” Nayeon takes a sip of wine from a coffee mug. 

“You’re so weird drinking wine from a mug.” 

“Part of my charm, remember?” 

Jackson chuckled. It’s true. Nayeon’s weird ways had always been part of her charm. Just when he thought he’d seen it all, she’d come crashing in with something new. “Jayjay said he met noona today. How’s she?” 

“Still tall.” 

Jackson frowns. “You’re less annoying at dinner tonight? Something happened?” 

Remembering the morning events still overwhelms her. “I saw her today.” Nayeon takes another sip of her drink. “Mina.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah.” 

“Did you talk?” 

“No.” 

“She saw Jayjay?” 

“Yeah.” 

“How do you feel about it?” 

“I don’t know. She was just there.” She shrugs. “She’s blonde now and she’s getting married to a woman, I think.” She scoffs. “Two things I never, in a million years, thought I’d use to describe her.” Nayeon stated, finishing her drink. 

Jackson studies Nayeon’s somber demeanor and remembers the first time he met her. It was at the rooftop of the apartment building he was renting back in New York. He was on his first year of residency and had just gone home after a three day shift. He wanted to enjoy his cold beer at his usual spot when he saw a girl lying on the floor with a bottle of wine and a coffee mug beside her. 

They started talking and he found out that the skinny Korean girl just moved into the apartment beside his. He didn’t know what it was about Nayeon that made him feel comfortable with her – later on he realized it was her warm and bright personality which was a contrast to his serious one. 

It became their thing to meet each other on the rooftop after sunsets though it was always Jackson who’d always say goodnight first, leaving Nayeon to enjoy the rest of the night alone. 

He discovered that Nayeon’s an intern at a real estate company and she has dreams of building her own house someday. Nayeon would listen to him rant about a senior doctor who would mistreat other interns and why he can’t just report him to his seniors. They became each other’s confidant. They got so close that he even invited her to spend the holidays with his family since she didn’t want to fly back home. 

Nayeon told him about her mother in Korea who remarried after her father died. She told him why she chose her career. She told him almost everything about her. But she never told him the reason she left Korea – until one drunken night, when she dragged him to the nearest pub to celebrate her first year of being a New Yorker. 

As a medical practitioner, he was quite impressed that Nayeon didn’t get poisoned with the large amount of alcohol she consumed that night. It was probably because she had been bawling her eyes out about a certain Japanese lady that broke her heart, that she was basically crying the alcohol out of her system. 

Nayeon was a mess. But Jackson was even more of a mess when he woke up the next morning in her apartment, on her bed. It only took a few seconds for him to remember what they did after coming home from the pub and he hated himself for losing control. He was formulating a plan to wake up the girl sleeping next to him when he heard her mumbled a name.

 _Mina._

The Japanese lady who broke Nayeon’s heart. 

And even after six years, as Jackson stares at Nayeon, that Japanese lady is still breaking her heart.

***

Mina had been staring at the ceiling for almost two hours now. Or is it three? She can’t tell how long she’d been waiting for sleep to takeover but it doesn’t seem to come. Last time she went through something like this was about a year ago when Minatozaki Sana proposed after they got home from their usual Friday date night. She stayed up all night looking at the engagement ring, wondering why Sana would want to marry her – someone who’s still broken.

She turns to face her sleeping fiancé. _You're so beautiful, Sattang._ She reaches to tuck a few strands of hair and runs a thumb on her face. _I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be feeling this._

Sana stirs and Mina quickly withdraws her hand, not wanting to wake the girl up. 

_I shouldn't even be thinking about her._

The digital clock on the bedside table displays 02:15 when Mina slips off the bed. She needs to calm her nerves and she needs to do it now. Carefully walking out of the bedroom, she smiles when she finds Ray sitting right outside the door waiting for her. It still amazes her how Ray would sense her anxiety every time it attacks. She gives him a good boy pat and walks off to kitchen. 

Ray was a present from her parents when they first moved to South Korea. They thought he could keep her company since both of them weren’t home all the time. So it only makes sense that she took him with her when she moved into her own apartment. 

Ray looks at her curiously while she pours red wine into a coffee mug. 

“Don’t look at me like that. This is not the first time you see me do this.” She side-eyed Ray. 

Mina drinks a mouthful, letting her back rest on the kitchen counter, waiting for the alcohol effects to hit her. She wants to forget what happened today. Even for at least for a few hours, she needs to get Im Nayeon off her mind so she can get her much needed sleep.

_Why did you have to come back and mess with my head again?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading.  
> Lemme know what you think \m/


	3. Both ways

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be flashback :)

_Flashback_

_She walks out of the registrar’s office studying the schedule she was given while other students, who were line up waiting for their turn, give her weird looks. She kind of deserved it after basically skipping the line when she showed the person in charge her name – having her mother as part of the school board does have its advantage. Mina doesn’t normally use her connections to get ahead of anyone, but her morning was not as pleasant as she had wanted it to be. The car her parents promised to get her wasn’t picked up and she had to settle with her getting a ride with her father._

_It’s not that she doesn’t like spending time with her parents. In fact, she looks forward to it. The Myois are very busy people and Mina takes any spare time she can get just to be with them, which nowadays comes in a form car rides. However, being with her father that morning meant that she wasn’t able to answer Asahi’s call and that bummed her out._

_“Mitang! MITANG!”_

_Mina looks up and sees a familiar face wearing a plain white shirt, tucked in tattered shorts and an oversized denim jacket. She’s pretty sure that outfit is not college appropriate._

_“Momoring.” Mina greets her childhood friend._

_Momo gives Mina a curtsy before linking arms with her as she leads them away, other kids were still watching them. "You have no idea how excited I was when you told me you’re going to transfer here. The last time we were schoolmates was back in 9th grade, right?”_

_“Right.” Mina looks back at the schedule card she’s holding. “Well, I had no choice. Mama took the offer here and they can’t just leave me in Osaka alone.”_

_“You make it sound like it’s such a bad thing.”_

_“Isn’t it? I mean, it’s the sophomore year and I’m sure everyone here already knows almost everyone else. I don’t like being The New Girl.”_

_“No, you won’t be. You’ll fit right in. And it’s going to be awesome because I’m here.” Momo pouts. “Why should it be a bad thing?”_

_“Because I already have my whole life planned out back home?”_

_“You mean you have a boyfriend back home. A secret boyfriend, may I remind you.” Momo pokes her best friend’s cheek. “What do you think your parents are going to do if they leave you there and they find out about him?” She raises an eyebrow. “You’d still be shipped out here. Or worse, they may ship you off somewhere far.”_

_“Maybe that’d be better.” Mina ponders._

_“We both know you won’t survive a day alone without your army of butlers and maids following you around, Princess.” Momo teased._

_“Sure I can.”_

_"Ah-huh." Momo laughs at her. “Come on. I’ll show you around. We have at least an hour before our first class.”_

_Momo and Mina turn the corner to walk out of the college main building when someone called out behind them._

_“HIRAI!”_

_They stop. Mina can tell that Momo knows the owner of that loud voice with the way the older Japanese rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh before turning around._

_“Yes?” Momo fakes a smile._

_“You parked in my spot.”_

_Mina also turned around and was met by yet another college dress code rule breaker. Wearing the shortest skirt she had ever seen,_ _this other girl screams Korean beauty._

_“No, I didn’t.” Momo denied._

_“Yes, you did.” The girl walked closer and put both hand on her waist. "You’re the only one that owns a hideous pink car. It’s such an eye sore. Seriously, it’s giving everyone migraine this early in the morning.”_

_“Your car’s pink?” Mina interrupted._

_“Yes. But it's an elegant shade of pink. Not like trashy pink.” Momo answers proudly, forgetting about the Korean girl that’s currently confronting her about a parking space. “You’ll like it, Mitang.”_

_Mina hopes Momo is joking. She knew Momo loves the color pink. All those times she slept over at the Hirai’s Osaka house were proof that Momo could turn anything pink if she wants to. But a pink car? Now, that’s just going too far._

_“Hirai!” Mystery Korean girl calls out again._

_“Im!” Momo decides to also use the Korean’s last name. ”The parking space is free for all students. You don’t have your name reserved on that spot.”_

_“You know that’s where I’ve been parking since day one of freshman year.”_

_“Then, maybe try coming in early next time. And why do you even have to park? Don’t you live in the dorms now? That’s like a fifteen minute walk from here. You’re wasting gas and you’re only adding pollution to the air.”_

_“Fuck off, Hirai! Just don’t park there tomorrow.” The Im girl said menacingly._

_Mina didn’t miss the way the Korean girl looked at her before walking past them._

_“Have fun on your classes today too, Im.” Momo calls out cheerfully._

_The two Japanese girls watch as the Im girl responds by flipping Momo off._

_“Who was that?”_

_“That is Im Nayeon. The University’s resident bad girl. A rebel with a cause. The misunderstood.” Momo answers as they start walking again. “Be careful with that girl. She’s known to have this weird habit of dragging random people to empty classrooms for afternoon make-out sessions.”_

_“W-why should I be careful? I mean, I’m a girl. She’s a girl._

_“Oh, you sheltered little Princess.” Momo lovingly pats Mina’s head, teasing her. “Im Nayeon goes all the way, both ways.”_

_She pushed Momo’s hand away as she felt her cheeks got warmer. Mina knows exactly what her best friend meant, she just finds it surprising that things like this do exist in real life – that a girl as beautiful as that Im Nayeon does the things that she had only seen in the movies._

*****

The loud bang of a door closing followed a quick “ _Sorry”_ brings Mina back to the present _._ She shakes her head. Sana tends to be a little clumsy when she’s in a rush. 

“Good morning, Darling.” Sana appears in the kitchen. “Oh, that smells so good.” 

“You know it is good.” Mina pointed out as she nods to the packed food on the kitchen island. “I packed your breakfast.” 

“You’re the best.” The older Japanese made her way to Mina, wraps her arms around her waist. “I’m sorry I have to leave so early. You know there’s nothing I love more than having breakfast with you.” 

“Hmm, having breakfast with me, huh?“ Mina wiggles her eyebrows. “Are you sure about that?” 

“It’s eight in the morning, Miss. Get your mind off the gutter.” Sana teased before placing a soft kiss on Mina’s cheek. “Jeong called. The artist wants to change the lyrics of the song cause it’s too romantic.” She rolls her eyes. “What did she expect when she signed up for a valentines album?” 

“You can always get Jihyo to write her own stuff. Seriously, you spoil her too much.” 

“The _company_ spoils her too much. I, on the other hand, will knock some sense into her coconut head.” 

Sana pulls back from the hug and spots the coffee mug beside her packed lunch. If she can’t have breakfast, she might as well steal Mina’s coffee. Her fiancé makes the best coffee. 

“Honey, wait, that's not –“

Too late. 

Sana gulps a mouthful and immediately regretted not checking what’s in it. She keeps on forgetting that Mina likes to drink everything using her favorite mug. 

“Darling, it’s too early for wine, don’t you think?” Sana, with a scrunched face, walks to the fridge to get a bottled water. 

“It’s my day off from work. I figured I’d start celebrating freedom as early as I can.”

Sana looks at Mina. Sure the younger Japanese likes her wine but she only ever drinks before noon when something’s bothering her. The last time was when she had to tell her parents that she wanted to quit her job at her father’s company and become a ballet dance instructor for kids.

“Are you okay? You seem a bit flushed.” 

“I’m fine. It’s probably just the wine.” Mina runs a hand through her hair. “You’re right. It is too early to start drinking.” 

“Well, how about I take you out on a date tonight? It’s been awhile since we last went out.” Sana starts making cute faces. She knows her fiancé can’t resist her aegyo. “Go on a date with me. Pwetty pweese?” 

“You know I hate your aegyo.” Mina says with a smile as makes her way to Sana. She places both hands on either side, effectively trapping her between her body and the kitchen counter. 

Sana just laughs. “Your favorite restaurant?” It’s not really a question, more like a confirmation. “I’ll pick you up at seven.” 

Mina hummed an _‘Okay’ before_ leaning in to capture Sana lips.

***

The engaged couple doesn’t normally go out in the middle of the week but Mina needs this kind of distraction. She needs to take her mind off the fact that Im Nayeon is back in Korea and that they haven’t ran into each other again since the incident at Tzu’s. And that was two days ago. 

Sana, being a woman of her word, did pick her up at exactly seven and drove them to Mina’s favorite Japanese restaurant. 

The restaurant owner greeted them as soon as they walked in and even showed them to the reserved table at the VIP area. He had grown fond of the two women. Mostly because of Sana’s lively personality, but also because he had watched their relationship bloom from awkward first dates to romantic Friday night dinners. He was even Sana’s accomplice that night she proposed to Mina, putting the diamond ring as the centerpiece of the younger’s favorite dessert. Mr. Taki, the restaurant owner, cried when he heard Mina’s soft _"Yes"._

“You got a full house tonight, Mr. Taki." Sana smiles sweetly. "Thanks for accommodating my last minute reservations.” 

“There will always be a reserved table for my favorite girls even when it’s not Friday.” Mr. Taki said as he hands them out the dinner menu. “How’s the wedding preparations going?” 

“It’s coming along. We still have at least two weeks before the big day, but I think we have everything ready. Don’t we, Darling?” 

Mina had been staring at the menu, not really reading any of it, when she felt Sana’s hand on hers. _Oh, did she ask me something? I really need to stop spacing out._

“Y-yes.” She squeezes Sana’s hand. “Yes, Honey.” 

Mr. Taki clapped his hands. “So, what will you have tonight? The usual?” 

“Yes, please. You already know how Mitang likes her beef.” 

“I’ll have your dinner ready in twenty minutes.” 

A waiter arrives with two glasses of red wine, smiling at the couple before taking the menu and the order forms from Mr. Taki. The old man nods to drinks.

“Those are from the new shipment that came from France. I was going to give you a couple of bottles as wedding gifts. But I realized, I’m not sure if you’re even going to like them since they’re different from what I normally serve you.” He chuckles. “So, let me know what you think, okay?” 

Mina's touched. _This man is so sweet._ “Aww, you don’t have to. You’ve already given us too many discounts in the past, we can’t ask any more from you.” 

“No, no, no. You girls are like the daughters I never had. Let this old man do this for you.”

***

“Nana still insists on flying out here for the wedding, but of course everyone’s still against it.” Sana explains as they walk to the cashier and handed her card to pay their bill. She insisted on paying for dinner tonight since she asked Mina out. “We can’t risk it especially now that she’s having tremors on her hands.”

“Maybe we could still have the wedding in Osaka. That way she wouldn’t have to travel far to see her favorite grand kid walk down the aisle.” 

“Darling, I wish we could. But people there are not yet as open minded as the rest of the world.” Sana leans close to kiss her cheek. “I’ll just run to the washroom really quickly. Wait for me here.” She kisses Mina’s nose too before sprinting towards the washrooms. 

It’s still a wonder how Sana is always in a good mood. Mina had seen her throw many tantrums during difficult times, but she never stay grumpy for more than a few hours. She finds distractions until she’s back to being her bubbly self. _Why can’t I be like her?_

The cashier hands the card back to Mina, thanking her for always visiting and wishing her a great rest of the evening. She was about to strike up a conversation when she heard it. 

A laugh. 

No, not just a simple laugh. 

It’s a loud, obnoxious, unapologetic laugh coming from the outside seating of the restaurant. 

Mina froze. She knows that laugh. _It could be anyone. Oh who am I kidding?_ She took a deep breath before turning around to look at where the sound of laughter was coming from. 

And there she is. Im Nayeon. Laughing with her head thrown back and hitting the person sitting next to her. Thanks to Mina’s 20/20 vision, she can tell that she’s already drunk judging by the flustered look on the Korean’s face and the empty bottles of soju on their table. 

_Typical,_ Mina thought. 

What’s not typical though is the arm of a man draped around Nayeon’s shoulders as they both double up with laughter. _Who is that guy? Is he the little boy’s father? He had to be, right? Why am I even staring? I should stop, it’s rude to stare._

She didn’t notice Sana had returned until she felt her arms around her waist. 

“Ready to go?” Sana asked. 

Mina nods and immediately pulls Sana out of the restaurant, relieved that Nayeon didn’t see her. 

But Nayeon did. 

Nayeon noticed them the minute they stepped into the restaurant. She frowned when Mina laughed at something her brown haired fiancé said. She cringed when Zakizaki lady leaned across the table to kiss Mina. She saw everything.

 _Whatever._ Nayeon scoffed watching the other woman wrap a scarf around Mina, the Japanese princess who swore to never swing her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seize The Light made me so emotional, I wasn't able to post this update sooner.  
> But here it is, still unbeta-ed :)  
> Lemme know what you think. Thank you.


	4. Reel feels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still unbeta-ed so forgive me for all the errors.

_Flashback_

_Nayeon would rather be caught dead than admit to anyone that she loves going to school. She enjoys the academics even when she was younger and her scores would always show it. More importantly, she gets to use it as an escape from the sad reality life had given her._

_Her father died of a sudden heart attack when she was seventeen and her mother had recently remarried. That was the reason why she opted on renting a dorm room even though her family house is near the university. She didn’t like the idea of living under the same roof as her mother’s new family. Her mother tried to stop her, using all kinds of reasoning to talk her out of it, even going as far as freezing her trust funds. But she also knew that once Nayeon sets her mind on something, there’s no stopping the stubborn young Im._

_Bell rings and everyone’s out of the classroom._

_Nayeon checks her phone for the time. Great, she still has time to spare before extracurricular starts. She scans the hallways for a potential afternoon snack when a short haired girl walks up to her._

_“Im Nayeon-ssi?” The girl asked._

_“Yes?”_

_The girl bows. “Dean Hirai would like to see you in her office.”_

_Nayeon frowns. “Why does the Dean of Business Ad want to see an engineering student?”_

_“I-I don’t know, sunbaenim. I was just told to give you the message.”_

_“What’s your name?”_

_“Son Chaeyoung.” The girl showed Nayeon her college ID along with her student assistant badge._

_Nayeon noticed the girl’s backpack is covered with weird drawings. She knows this brand only sells plain colored bags. “Did you design your bag?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“It’s cool.” Nayeon smiles before walking away. “See you around, Son.”_

_***_

_Dean Hirai’s office door opens and an annoyed Korean girl walks in. “You wanted to see me?”_

_“Yes. Please take a seat.” The dean gestures towards the chair._

_“No, thank you.” Nayeon remained standing near the door. ”What’s this about?”_

_“Alright, let’s get down to business then. As you already know, I supervise the Film and Media club and it has come to my attention that some of the old reels from the school archives have gone missing. Those are valuable school properties and it’s considered a felony to take them out of school premises without permission.”_

_“Wow. It’s only been a few weeks since school year started and you already have stuff being stolen. What a shame.” Nayeon feigned shock. “Well, good luck with that. I hope you find the culprit.”_

_“Scholarships are on the line here.” The dean said with a warning tone._

_“O-kay.” Nayeon shrugs. “I know have a bad reputation in this uni but I didn’t take them so I'm going. And I’m not under a scholarship." Nayeon reaches for the door knob, ready to leave._

_“No, you’re not. But Chou Tzuyu is.”_

_Nayeon stops and closes the door again. She looks back at Dean Hirai who’s now sporting a smug look on her face._

_“We have CCTV footage of the evening she drove away with two boxes of reels. Clear images of her plate number too.” Dean Hirai continued._

_“What’s that got to do with me?”_

_“I believe she just joined your Drama Club and I was told she’s very close to you.”_

_Now, Tzuyu just started college so not a lot of people know her. Only students who also went to the same high school as Nayeon would know the nature of her relationship with the Taiwanese girl._

_Then it clicked._

_“Momo told you, didn’t she?”_

_“Look, just tell your friend to step forward and return the items then all these can be forgiven with disciplinary actions. Otherwise she can say goodbye to that scholarship and prepare herself for a criminal case against her once the school board finds out about this.”_

_“A criminal case? She’s just a kid.” Nayeon rushes toward and bangs her fists on the Dean’s desk. ”You’re unbelievable.”_

_Dean Hirai raised an eyebrow. She didn’t expect this kind of reaction from the Korean student._

_Nayeon took a deep breath to calm herself. This is not the right place to act this way. “Would that be all, Dean Hirai?”_

_“Yes, that would be all. You may go.”_

_***_

_Nayeon is on a mission – to find Hirai Momo and make her pay. She can’t believe she’d sell Tzuyu out like that. She looks at her phone to check the time. The Japanese dancer should be at the gym at this hour, dance troupe practice and all._

_She saw the dancer in her pink jacket and high pony, chatting with other students by the gym’s entrance. She’d been fascinated with the Japanese girl’s obsession with the color pink that she even had a pink university letterman jacket made exclusively for her._

_Hirai privileges._

_Nayeon hears loud gasps when she grabs the girl’s arm and pulls her to the utility room a few feet away from the gym._

_Once inside the utility room, the other girl yanks her arm away from Nayeon._

_“Excuse me. What are you doing?”_

_That’s weird, Nayeon thought as she turned around. “You’re not Momo.”_

_“I’m not.”_

_Nayeon recognized this girl. Myoi. The Japanese transfer student. The one that she always sees running around the campus with Momo. She heard this girl’s the daughter of a school board official, so maybe she shouldn’t mess with her. Maybe._

_"You’re not who I’m supposed to bring here.” Nayeon moves back, creating more space between her and the other girl._

_“I’m not?” Mina’s not even sure why she’s asking._

_“Why are you wearing Momo’s jacket?”_

_“I spilled a drink on mine and she lent me –“_

_Nayeon holds up a hand to stop Mina. “You know what? Whatever. Just, just get out. Go.”_

_Mina looks at Nayeon. The girl usually has a smirk plastered on her face but today she looks defeated, lost even. “Are you okay?”_

_“Go.” Nayeon repeated._

_“Okay.” Mina stares at Nayeon for a couple of seconds before walking out._

_*****_

The Creepy House renovation had finally started and Nayeon’s more scared than excited. Ten years of dreaming and it’s finally happening. And it’s making her really anxious. 

Nayeon’s going over the plumbing plan for the fifth time when she feels someone watching her. Looking up, she was pleasantly surprised to see the woman leaning on the doorframe. It feels weird to see Momo without any hints of pink in her clothing. She finally outgrew her pink obsession. 

_People change,_ Nayeon thought. 

“And you’re not even going to tell me you returned home?” Momo shakes her head in disapproval. “If I wasn’t following Tzuyu on twitter, I wouldn’t have known you’re back with a charming little prince.” 

Momo opens her arms and Nayeon goes to hug her.

“I would’ve told you if I could reach you.” Nayeon pulls back and studies Momo’s face. “Your skin looks so healthy. Six months in Iceland can do this, huh?” 

“Yes. Breathing unpolluted air does wonders to your body.” Momo squints. “How’d you know I was there?” 

“I keep tabs on all of you.” 

Momo looks at her suspiciously. “ _All_ of us?” 

“Don’t go there.” Nayeon warns. “You’ve only been here for like thirty seconds. Don’t make me throw you out.” 

“You know, you shouldn’t really be the sensitive one here since, you know, you’re the one who left.” 

If there’s one word that can be associated with Momo, aside from pink, it’s blunt. She’s never been afraid to say things that go through her brain regardless of who she’s speaking with – a complete opposite of Tzuyu who’s very careful with her words. 

“Did you come to pick a fight?” Nayeon asked, waving rolled up floor plans. “Because now’s not a good time. I’m actually pretty busy, if you can’t tell.” 

“Chill, I’m not here for you.” Momo looks around the plastic-covered drywalls of the room. “Where’s the little guy? I bought him so many snacks from Iceland. I’m definitely going to be his favorite noona.” 

“He’s with mom. They went to Everland today. And Tzuyu already has that title. You, on the other hand, can have favorite auntie.” 

“No.” Momo whines. “Why does she get to be noona? And I get auntie?!” 

“Because you’re old…er? I don’t know. That’s just how it is.” 

A loud crash interrupted their conversation. Nayeon rushes outside to find several cans of paint that have fallen to the ground. Thankfully none of them seemed to have been opened. Paints are so expensive nowadays. 

Beside the cans, she sees two women who also seemed to have fallen to the ground, scrambling to get up. 

“DubChaeng?” Nayeon calls out. 

Dahyun, the one with silver locks, looked up and immediately let go of the other woman to hug Nayeon. “Nayeon unnie!” She twirls them around. 

“I found them in Iceland.” Momo stated as she helped the other woman with tattoos up to her feet. “Backpacking. Fishing. Vandalizing.” 

“We’re just living our lives to the fullest.” Chaeyoung, who now sports a longer dark hair with green streaks and tattoos, grins. 

_Is she drunk?_ “So, that’s why Tzuyu can’t contact you too.” Nayeon said while still being hugged by the silver haired woman. 

Chaeyoung looks at Momo curiously. “Huh?” 

One of Momo’s other talents is reading people’s facial expression. “She’s been keeping tabs on all of us. And Tzuyu is her spy.” Momo said matter-of-factly. 

“Oh, really? Even on Mi –“ 

Nayeon covered Dahyun's mouth with her own before she can finish her sentence. “Did you all just come here to annoy me or did you actually need something?” 

“We wanted to see you. We missed you, unnie.” The tattooed woman exclaimed before running closer to squeeze Nayeon’s other side. “We really did.” 

_Yup, she’s definitely drunk._

***

Tzuyu checks the list of new dishes her chef had given her for approval. She wants to change their menu since the season’s changing and some ingredients are going to be hard to get. 

The door chimes jingle, signalling an arrival of a customer. 

“Hey, Tzuyu-ya.” 

“Mina unnie. Are you here for dinner?”

“Oh, no, not for dinner. I just want to confirm the number of sugar free cupcakes for the reception. It’s just like what we’ve discussed it. Nothing’s going to change.” 

“Great. I’ll confirm with the bakers.” Tzuyu taps on her iPad and opens another folder titled _MINAtozaki Wedding._ “They should have everything ready a couple of days before the big day.”

“Perfect. Thank you.” 

“You can actually just message me, unnie. You have my personal number.” She looks from her iPad to see Mina fiddles with the strap of her shoulder bag. “Unless, that’s not the only reason you drove all the way here.” 

Of course Tzuyu knows it’s not. 

Mina walks closer to the counter. “I’m going crazy, Tzuyu. I just need to know.” 

“Unnie, it’s not my place to tell you.” The younger said apologetically. 

“I know how loyal you are to Nayeon. I just need to know a few things.” Mina runs a hand through her hair. “When did she return?” 

Tzuyu had seen this look before. It was the same confused look Mina had the first few months after Nayeon left. It still makes her sad whenever she’s reminded of those dark times. And so she gives in.

“About a week ago.” 

“Did you know she was coming back?” 

“Yes.” _Please don’t ask any more questions, unnie._

“The little boy with her, is he her son?” 

“Yes.” Tzuyu reaches out to hold Mina’s hand. “Unnie, it’s really not my place to tell you more.” 

“I get it. It’s just seeing her again after all these years, I –” Mina sighed heavily. “I never thought I’d see her again.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

Mina nods and retracts her hands from Tzuyu’s hold. “When you two meet again, can you tell her to maybe talk to me?” 

Tzuyu shakes her head. “Unnie, we’re not in college anymore. I’m not your messenger. And I think you already know where you can find her.”

***

Nayeon’s very grateful that her mother adores Jayjay, probably more than she ever adored her own daughter. She laughs as she scrolls through photos from their trip to Everland – feeding giraffes, eating street foods, going on theme park rides. He had a wonderful time and there’s nothing more precious to her than seeing the little boy’s toothy smile. 

_Silly bunny._ She changed her phone’s wallpaper to a photo of him in a bunny hat pretending to eat carrot plushies. 

Her workers had gone home but she decided to stay for a bit, allowing herself to get lost in the memories of her youth spent in the stillness of this house. A particular night flashed through her mind. She had broken her wrist and was sitting on the exact same spot, doodling on her cast and laughing as Mina draws a cute little penguin that looked so out of place in between weird caricatures that her other friends had already drawn. 

_Ugh, there's really no way to stop thinking about her now that I've started working on this house._

She kicks a twig and watches it roll down the front steps until someone steps on it to make it stop. 

_Mina_. 

She may have spaced out because the next thing she knew the Japanese princess' already sitting a few feet away from her. 

Nayeon just stares at Mina. She noticed that she has bangs but had it swept to the side, the mole on her forehead on display. She probably had blonde hair for several months now since the dark roots are already growing. She’s gained a few pounds too which is good because that means the she's been taking care of herself. It also makes her cheekbones pop up. Nayeon remembers how skinny Mina was in college because she was too conscious about her physical appearance, like any other student her age. 

Mina was never a fan of make-ups and would always opt for a natural look which is something that Nayeon loved about her. And even now as she sits a few feet away from her, Nayeon still gets mesmerized by Mina’s natural beauty. 

“You finally got what you really wanted.” Mina said quietly, nodding to the house. 

_No, I never got what I really wanted._ Nayeon just gives her a small smile. 

Mina thought about this moment many times in the past. She rehearsed what she’d say when she finally meets Nayeon again. Things that will make the other woman realize how devastated she was when she left. How she spent many nights crying herself to sleep. How she stalked Tzuyu to get answers. How much she missed her. 

“I’m getting married.” Is what came out. 

Surprised, but Nayeon expected this. “I know. You invited my mom. School board official. Congratulations.” She’s hoping this is not the only reason Mina’s here. She really doesn’t want to talk about her upcoming wedding.

 _Really? Congratulations?_ Many had congratulated her, but hearing it from Nayeon stings. 

“Six years.” Mina breathed out. 

_Here it comes_ , Nayeon takes a deep breath. 

“You were gone for six years. You just left. No messages. Not even a stupid letter. Nothing. You just fucking ghosted me.” Mina spits out. “And now you’re back. You’re just suddenly here with a son and a husband and fixing this old creepy house that you promised we’d…” She didn’t realize she had been throwing her hands everywhere. ”Why?” She takes a deep breath. “Why did you leave me?” 

She went from zero to one hundred in matter of seconds. All this pent up feelings pouring out all at once. 

There was a moment of silence before Nayeon answers. 

“We were basically just kids. You weren’t ready.” Nayeon bit her lip. “ _I_ wasn’t ready.” 

“So you figured disappearing would be the best solution?" Mina swallows the lump in her throat. "You could’ve talked to me. We could’ve worked it out.” She shouldn’t really cry in front of Nayeon now. “I waited for you.” 

Nayeon rubs the back of her neck, holding back her own tears. “I’m sorry, Mina.” 

“No, I don’t want your sorry anymore. It’s too late for that now. I’m getting married.” 

“Yes, you are.” 

Mina looks back at the woman sitting across from her. She’s only just a few feet away but the distance feels enormous between them. She used to think the world of Nayeon. But that world crumbled the night she left. Nayeon’s always been strong willed, but this woman with her now looks defeated, lost even. 

There’s an overwhelming urge to just hold her, but just as Mina stands up her phone begins to buzz. She pulls it out from her pocket and the screen reads “ _HONEY Calling…”_. By force of habit, she slides the green button and an agitated Sana comes on the line.

“Mitang, it’s getting late. Where are you? Can you come home now? Like, right now?” 

“Did something happen?” Mina can hear Sana sniffs on the other line. “Honey, are you okay?” 

“Just, please come home. Please. Right now.” 

“Yes. I’ll be home soon. Wait for me, okay.” 

Nayeon heard the part when Mina called the person on the other line _Honey,_ so her guess is that was her fiancé. She watched as Mina put the phone back into her pocket and released a heavy sigh before facing her again. 

“I have to go.” 

It almost sounded like she was asking for Nayeon’s permission to leave. 

So, Nayeon just nods. She honestly doesn’t know what else to say. She wants Mina to stay but she also wants to get away from her. This is not how she imagined their first conversation will feel like. She feels suffocated. 

They locked eyes one more time before Mina got into her car and drove off. 

_You waited._

_It’s too late._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for waiting and for the comments :)  
> I love reading them \m/


	5. Broken bones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !! TW !!  
> There'd be mentions of assaults.

_Flashback_

_“Stop that.”_

_“Just a few more, unnie. Just hold still. Don’t move.”_

_Clicks._

_Nayeon throws an irritated look to the girl with the camera. “I’m eating my lunch.”_

_“It’s for the club members’ portfolio.” Kim Dahyun, a freshman student with long brown hair – pink and orange highlights – is doing all kinds of weird poses while taking Nayeon’s photo you’d think she’s the one being photographed._

_“We already had our photos taken. I even had to dress up that time.” Nayeon cringed at the memory._

_“No, those are not enough, unnie.” Dahyun brushes her off. “We also need to show everyone how versatile we are. We need to be seen in like, our natural state.”_

_“This is so far from my natural state.” Nayeon said under breath before Dahyun jumped on the bench beside her, shocking the older Korean. “I swear on your mother’s makgeolli, I’m going to throw this iced latte all over your camera if you don’t stop now.”_

_“Okay, okay.” Dahyun steps back a few feet away from Nayeon, dramatically hiding her camera. “No need to include my mom’s business here. I think I got the right shots anyway.”_

_“Good. Now, will you let me finish my lunch in peace?”_

_Silence. Finally. This is what Nayeon needs._

_Just then, Tzuyu arrived with the short haired student assistant, Chaeyoung._

_Ugh, Nayeon spoke too soon._

_“Bruh!” Dahyun yells as she attacks Chaeyoung with a bear hug._

_Nayeon genuinely believe this girl has ADHD or something._

_Tzuyu quietly takes her seat opposite Nayeon while the two other freshmen are finishing their weird handshake. It actually looks like they’re breaking each other’s limbs to be honest._

_“Hi, sunbaenim.” Chaeyoung gave Nayeon a polite bow as soon as she noticed her._

_“Oh, you know Nayeon unnie?” Dahyun asked, still has Chaeyoung in a chokehold._

_“I already met her. I delivered a message for her from the DH.”_

_“Oh.”_

_Nayeon points. “You two know each other?”_

_“Yes, Chaecasso here is my new roommate. My bruh! Which reminds me, we’re throwing a party on Friday. A Welcome Party. You should come. I’m serving the world famous Kim makgeolli.”_

_“No, thank you.”_

_“Come on, unnie. You know what goes on in a Dubu party.”_

_“Exactly, that’s why it’s a no.”_

_“Aish, you’re no fun anymore. You used to love my parties.” Dahyun turns to face the youngest one. “How about you Tzuyu? You’ll be there right?”_

_“Yeah, sure.” The Taiwanese girl shrugs._

_“Great.” Dahyun’s eyes disappear when she smiles._

_Then the girl suddenly stood up straight, clicked her feet together and raised her hand in a salute. Chaeyoung followed and Nayeon watched as the two eyed Tzuyu, waiting for her to the same._

_This is pretty amusing, Nayeon thought. She holds back her laughter when Tzuyu reluctantly gives in, raising her hand in a salute._

_“DubChaeng dismissed.” Dahyun announced._

_“See you later, Tzuyu.” Chaeyoung waves at her. “Don’t forget. We’ll have to move a few things for the DH after your last class, so meet me at the auditorium, okay?”_

_‘DubChaeng’ walk away, leaving Nayeon with the young Taiwanese who’s still avoiding eye contact. Nayeon can see that the younger girl is in deep thought, so she waits._

_“I’m sorry, unnie.” Tzuyu finally said._

_“I still can’t believe you didn’t come to me with this. You don’t just steal stuff to make money. You know I could help you.”_

_“I know.”_

_“Then why didn’t you tell me?!”_

_“You’ve already done so much for me. You and your dad.”_

_Yes, Tzuyu knew Nayeon’s late father. He was her social worker._

_Tzuyu was born in Seoul but her parents were Taiwanese. Well, at least that’s what it says on her birth certificate. Unfortunately, she didn’t get to meet them. She was barely a year old when her mother dropped her off at an orphanage and she had been in the foster care system since then._

_She met and stayed with so many foster families that it became hard for her to keep up with people’s name. Tzuyu got use to this set up though and at a very young age, she learned to be very careful with her words because not everyone responds the same way._

_At fourteen, Tzuyu was staying with a family that has a college son studying abroad. It was going great until he came back for the holiday break. The boy gave her weird looks the moment they met. She brushed off the uneasy feelings but every night she would still double check that her doors were locked. Unfortunately, he knew where the keys were and he had too much to drink the night it happened._

_That was when Mr. Im came to the picture. He was a very passionate man. The first time he met the scared girl, he just melted and didn’t think twice about handling Tzuyu’s case. He had a soft spot for little girls especially since he had one of his own._

_Nayeon was her father’s pride and joy. He would always tell her that little girls are the most precious thing in the world and that they should always be protected. They’re delicate._

_The Ims are old money which means important and powerful connections and that’s basically how they won the case – he got Tzuyu the best lawyers South Korea has to offer._

_He made sure Tzuyu wouldn’t have to experience anything similar to what she just went through, so with those special connections, he got Tzuyu out of the system and had the best therapists see her. He also set up a little trust fund to help her get by. He basically already adopted her without the legal part of it._

_And Nayeon knew all this._

_Mr. Im didn’t share the specifics of his work to his wife, but he never kept any secrets from his daughter. He even told her about the arranged marriage between him and Mrs. Im – the reason why Nayeon had never seen her parents show affections to each other. She always gets so fascinated when he hears everything her father’s done._

_He was a superhero._

_He was her superhero. And she was his sidekick._

_So Nayeon took it upon herself to continue what he’s started. She took Tzuyu under her wing in high school and swore to be the big sister she never had._

_“Dad would’ve wanted you to come to me too. You know that. It’s just money. I can always get you access to that trust fund he got you.”_

_“That’s the thing, unnie. I don’t want to take anything from your family anymore.”_

_“You’re my family.”_

_It’s true. After her mother’s recent marriage, Tzuyu is Nayeon’s only family now._

_And she’s Tzuyu’s. “I’m really sorry, unnie.”_

_“Just don’t do anything stupid like that again. okay? I don’t know if I can get you out of trouble the next time.” Nayeon plays with her food. “Good thing we were able to cut a deal with the DH. SA-ing for her should be easy.”_

_Tzuyu nods._

_“So what was that all about?”_

_“Huh?”_

_“This.” Nayeon copied DubChaeng’s salute._

_“Oh. It’s uh, for a little group they made up. School meal or something.”_

_“School meal? Like a school meal club?” Nayeon laughs. “Aww, that’s cute. You and Dubu got a new friend.” She teased. “My little Tzuyu.”_

_“I literally tower over you.” The younger girl rolled her eyes._

_***_

_3 PM is always the busiest time to be in the student lounge since most students have their free period. Mina would normally avoid this area but she finds herself stuck at the hallway when she saw Im Nayeon pulled Hirai Momo to an empty classroom. That was half an hour ago._

_Unbelievable. She shakes her head when Nayeon walks out the room. A flustered Momo follows a few moments after._

_This is the 3rd, no, this is the 4th time she’d seen them together this month. It’s not that Mina disapproves. She’d seen this in the movies. There’s even a new TV series that features a same sex couple. People can love who they love. It’s just that from where she came from, they don’t talk about this matter. It’s taboo._

_And besides, Momo is straight. Right?_

_Mina caught up with the Japanese dancer who’s still fixing her pink jacket._

_“Are you fooling around with her?”_

_“Yah!” Momo, who didn’t notice her following, screamed. “Jeez!“ Holding her chest. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Cause I can’t die yet. I still have to pass History.”_

_Mina rolls her eyes. “I waited for you at the library. We were supposed to meet there.”_

_“Oh, I forgot. I got distracted.”_

_“Obviously.” Mina scoffed._

_“Are you mad at me for missing our study session? It’s not like you’re the one failing. And that may not even work on me anymore. I could always just bribe my way to an A+.”_

_“What?!”_

_“I’ve done it before.” Momo said as if it’s the most natural thing in the world._

_Mina loves Momo but she’s not going to lie about the fact that the older Japanese can be a little ditzy._

_“Whatever. You still haven’t answered my question. Are you fooling around with the Im girl? What about Heechul?”_

_“What? Nayeon? Eww.” Momo fakes gag to prove a point. “That makes me want to vomit. Like I can already taste vomit in my mouth”._

_“Then what were you doing there with her?” Mina challenged._

_“Talking. We were just talking.” Momo cringed. ”And what about Heechul?”_

_“Aren’t you guys dating?”_

_“No. We saw each other one time. That’s not dating. He drives a hybrid though. Eco-friendly.”_

_There’s definitely something her best friend’s not telling her. Mina decides to let it slide this time, but if she sees them again together –_

_“How about you, Princess?” Momo breaks her thoughts “Any word from Asahi? Shouldn’t he be back from his fake hike?”_

_Mina pulls her phone out. “It’s not a fake hike. It’s their family’s tradition every year.” Still no messages._

_“I think he ghosted you. I saw Risa’s post on Instagram. She was invited to this fake hike.”_

_“Risa?”_

_Momo taps on her phone and shows the Instagram page of this Risa girl._

_“Yes, Risa, his ex.” She locks her phone and puts it in her pocket before putting an arm around Mina. “Mitang, I’m your best friend. You know I’m ready to kill for you but I can also kill you for being so stupid.”_

_“What should I do?”_

_“Ghost him too. There are plenty of other fishes here. Male and female.” Momo side eyed Mina. “Are you still picky?”_

_Mina playfully pushed Momo away. Maybe Momo plays for both teams now. “No, I can’t just ghost him. There should always be a proper closing for anything that’s ending.”_

_“Okay then.” Momo pulls her back for another hug. “Since it’s the end of the week, we’re going to close it properly with a party. We’re going out tonight.”_

_***_

_“I could actually bring you to a real club but my dad found my fake ID.” Momo explains. “This is way better though. You should experience an authentic college party.”_

_Mina scrunched up her nose when the door opened and the smell of alcohol flowed out of the room._

_Momo brought her to a dorm room party. She said it’s hosted by two freshmen and Mina’s still basically a new student, so this is one great way to also meet new people. The party isn’t as wild as she anticipated but it’s definitely louder that what she’s been to back in Japan._

_As pristine as she looks, Mina is not really that innocent. She had been invited to a many parties back in her high school years. She attended a few. She got drunk, made out with boys and even almost crashed her car. But she’s really not the extrovert type because she’d still prefer to stay home, sneak a bottle of wine in her room and binge watch all the Marvel movies._

_Momo was introducing her to the party hosts when her phone rings. “A-BOY Calling…”_

_“I’m just going to answer this.” She whisper-screamed to Momo._

_“Do you really have to?”_

_“Yes. Don’t worry, I’m just going to tell him it’s over.” Mina assured her friend._

_She maneuvered her way out of the room – squeezing herself in between dancing bodies, clutching her phone to her chest. She answered it as soon as she’s out of the room but the other line cut off. Great. She’ll just have to call him in the morning instead._

_Mina looks back at the dorm room. It’s pretty crazy that they haven’t been reported for their loud music at 11 PM. The room is on the first floor so she decided to go outside the building for a bit, get some fresh evening air before going back._

_She breathes in as soon as she steps out into the cool night. The sky’s clear tonight, stars are out. She takes another deep breath but there’s something else in the air this time. And it smells like Marlboro._

_Looking around, she sees someone sitting on the sidewalk, smoking. Wow. Party animals, drunks, smokers and from what Momo told her, thieves too – this uni has it all._

_The person leaned back as Mina looked closely and she realized it was the Im girl._

_Nayeon turns to face the newcomer as soon as she felt she was no longer alone. They stared at each other for a few moments. Mina breaks the staring contest and gives her a small bow. Nayeon just takes another drag of her cigarette._

_The Japanese girl was about to walk back into the building when a boy, carrying a baseball bat, appears. He approached a car parked right across from where the girls are watching and he just started hitting it. Nayeon jumps up to her feet and runs towards the boy._

_“DUDE!” Nayeon calls out._

_“Get away, Nayeon. This doesn’t concern you.” The boy warns, smashing the tail light of a black Mercedes._

_“Mark! Stop!” She screamed. “Fucking stop!”_

_But her screams fall to deaf ears as he continues his assault on the car. He aimed for the side mirror and that’s when Nayeon decided to pull the hood of this jacket. He pulls it back and pushes Nayeon away. It became a tug of war between the two of them until Mark lost it and pushed harder, making her hit the ground._

_CRACK._

_“Fuuuuuuuck!” Nayeon screamed in pain._

_“I-I told you to get away.” The guy holds his hands up in panic._

_“That’s my fucking car! You fucking moron!” Nayeon tries to stand up, cradling her left wrist. “Ah shit! Shit. Shit.”_

_“I-I didn’t know. I was just told to – ah fuck. I’m sorry. I’m –” The guy looks at Nayeon one more time before fleeing the scene._

_What just happened?_

_Mina was frozen to where she was standing. She saw everything from the other side. Looking around, making sure no one else will appear out of nowhere, she slowly walks towards Nayeon who is still on the ground beside a shattered tail light._

_“Oh god that looks broken.” Mina tends to state the obvious when she panics._

_“It feels like it too.” Nayeon spits out. “Argh! Shit. Can you –“_

_Mina rushed to help Nayeon up with ease – putting her right arm over her shoulders and supporting her by the waist. For a skinny girl, Mina’s quite strong._

_The Japanese grimaced when she saw the damage up close. “We need to get you to a hospital.”_

_***_

_Nayeon was immediately treated when they arrived at the ER, thanks to her mother’s connection – the first and hopefully the last time she’s ever going to have to use it._

_The ER is always the busiest and noisiest part of the hospital, but there’s silence in the small covered area where she and Mina are waiting. She sits on the bed, staring at her cast while the Japanese girl sits on the chair on the opposite side, fidgeting._

_“You can actually leave now. I already called my mom.”_

_“No, it’s fine. I’ll leave when she arrives. You shouldn’t be alone.” Mina smiles._

_Even though she was already given meds, Nayeon can still feel the throbbing pain from her broken wrist. She needs to get her mind off it. “What were you doing there anyway? You don’t stay at the dorms, right?”_

_“Momo invited me to a party.” Mina tries to remember the name. ”DubChaeng’s?”_

_“The wonder twins.” Nayeon nods. “You’re missing out on all of the fun.”_

_“It’s okay. It’s not really my thing.”_

_Nayeon frowns. “What is your thing?”_

_“Peace and quiet.”_

_“Ah! Then you’re the wrong uni, Princess.”_

_Nayeon surprised herself. Where did that nickname came from? She normally just calls people by their last names and she knows this girl’s last name. Before she can dwell more on it, the curtains open and her mother walks in._

_“What happened?” A woman in her 40’s with a Hime cut rushed to Nayeon’s side._

_“Dean Hirai?” To say Mina was shocked is an understatement._

_“Hey, mom.”_

_Dean Hirai missed the confused look on Mina’s face as she carefully lifts her daughter’s wrist. “I was afraid something like this would happen. Do you know who did this? Is it a student from the uni?”_

_“No, I didn’t see his face.” Nayeon said with a straight face._

_Mina wonders why she lied. She clearly heard Nayeon called out the boy’s name earlier._

_“Well, I talked to the doctor and thank god there’s no major damage.” Dean Hirai sighed. “But, sweetie, please come home. I can look after you and you can get more rest in the comfort of your own room. Momo helped clean it.”_

_“You let her touch my stuff?!”_

_“Come on, Naynay. Your father wouldn’t want his favorite daughter out of his house.”_

_“I’m his only daughter.”_

_“And you’re mine. Let’s go home.”_

_Mina feels like she shouldn’t be there to witness this private mother-daughter moment. Mother and daughter. Dean Hirai is Im Nayeon’s mother. Who also happens to be Momo’s new stepmom. Why didn’t Momo tell her that they’re stepsisters? She’s supposed to be her bestfriend. Is it because the two are make-out buddies? No, Momo told her they were just talking._

_“Dear,” Dean Hirai smiles at Mina. “Would you like a ride home?”_

_“Oh no, thank you. I brought my car. I’ll be fine.” Mina turns to Nayeon. “Get well.”_

_And for the first time, Mina sees Nayeon smile at her. “Thank you.”_

_The mother and daughter leave as Mina sinks into her seat. What a way to close her week._

_***_

_Mina carefully closed her locker and reads the text message from Asahi. She called during the weekends and broke up with him, telling him that long distant relationships never really work. Since then, he’s been messaging her nonstop, asking for reconsideration, telling her he also plans on following her to Korea._

_She was typing a reply when she felt a strong hand starts to drag her into an empty classroom. Why does this always happen when she’s not paying attention?_

_“Why did you tell my mom about Mark?!” Nayeon accused her._

_It took a few seconds for Mina to understand what the Korean girl meant._

_“Why didn’t you?” Mina counters._

_Nayeon lets out a heavy sigh and then slumps on one of the chairs. “I don't want him to get suspended. He’s not a bad kid, you know. He just got mixed in with a bad crowd. It’s not his fault that he wanted to fit in with them.”_

_What’s this girl talking about, Mina wonders. Nayeon genuinely looks more worried about what could happen to the boy who trashed her car and basically broke her wrist than what he had actually done._

_The Japanese princess moves to sit beside Nayeon. “How’s your wrist?”_

_“Still broken.” Shows her cast that now sports a few doodles. “Good thing it’s this one and not the right one.” Nayeon wiggles her right hand fingers._

_“Why?”_

_“You know…” Nayeon wiggles her fingers suggestively then laughs when she sees the realization dawned on Mina’s face. Japanese princess is cute when she blushes._

_“Anyway, thanks again for taking me to the ER. But don’t rat people out again.” Nayeon clicks her tongue disapprovingly, as if scolding a toddler, and then walks to the door._

_“Hey, Nayeon.” Mina calls out._

_“Hmm?”_

_Maybe she’ll regret this. “Let’s be friends.”_

_“No.”_

_Mina was not expecting that. “Why?”_

_“You’re too delicate.” Nayeon deadpanned._

_“What does that mean?”_

_Nayeon shrugs. She waves with her broken wrist before walking out, leaving a very confused Japanese princess._

*****

Mina looks out the window and watches as people go about their busy lives, minding their own business while they walk the busy streets outside of her office – well, Momo’s office.

 _Peach Dance Academy,_ _PDA_ _,_ is Hirai Momo’s dance studio that offers beginners, intermediate and advanced dance classes for people of all ages. They have HipHop, Urban, Contemporary and Ballet courses. Mina was more than happy to take over the Ballet program when Momo offered her the teaching post. It’s the closest thing to what she really wanted.

They say those who can, do; those who can’t, teach. 

Now, she acts as the Officer-in-charge while Momo is away _soul searching_ in god-knows-where with she-doesn’t-want-to-know-who. Last time she checked with her bestfriend she was in Iceland, helping out local fishermen. 

“Honey, you still there?” Mina checks on the person on the other line. 

“Yeah, I’m here.” Sana sounds exhausted. 

“How is she?” 

“She’s stable now. But she broke her hips again.” 

Minatozaki Sana’s grandmother fell down the stairs and the woman was hysterical when she was told about what happened. That’s how Mina found her fiancé at home last night, after coming back from the Creepy House. It took a few hours to calm Sana down before Mina drove her to the airport to catch a red eye flight to Osaka. 

“Darling, we might have to postpone the wedding.” Sana carefully said. “At least until Nana’s out of the hospital. I mean, she still can’t travel but I don’t want her to be uncomfortable in this place while she attends the wedding through video call. You know what I mean?” 

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll figure everything out, okay, let’s talk about that later. The important thing here is that Nana’s awake now.” 

“Yeah.” Sana groans. “I’m so hungry. I haven’t had a decent meal since I arrived.” 

“Skipping meals won’t do you any good right now. I can also tell you haven’t slept yet. You need your energy too.” Mina walks back to her desk and clicks on her laptop to open her calendar. “Do you want me to fly out there? I can take some days off work.” 

“No, you don’t have to. Dad’s here now and so are his brothers. The Minatozaki trio in full force.” Sana forced a laugh. 

“Fine.” Mina resigns. “But, you’ll call me anytime you need me, okay?” 

“I will. I love you, Mitang.” 

“I love you.” _I do. I do love her._

The call ends. 

Postpone the wedding. _Postpone. The. Wedding._

Her life was already planned out. Marrying Sana. Honeymoon in Hawaii. Moving out of her apartment. Moving into Sana’s place with Ray. Converting one of the rooms into a small dance studio. Getting another puppy. A baby in five years. Everything was already set. 

Then, Nayeon came back. Memories resurfaced. And the wedding may be postponed. _You better not be playing with me again, universe._

Mina rubs her temple. This whole thing is giving her a headache. She should be worried about Nana Minatozaki but her mind keeps on wandering off to that night she went to meet Nayeon. Of course she would knew Mina’s getting married. Dean Hirai is Chairman Myoi’s colleague after all. 

And now they may have to postpone the wedding. And it’s scaring Mina because it’s giving her a sense of relief and she shouldn’t feel relieved. She really shouldn’t. 

Knock, knock. 

A distraction. Yes, this is what she needs. 

Mina smiles when she recognized the silhouette of the person behind the glass door. 

“Who taught you to knock?” 

Momo walks in and points at Mina. “You did, back in college.” 

“And you just decided it’s time to practice the art of letting people know you’re coming into the room.” Mina teased. 

Momo hugs Mina tightly. “I knew leaving the studio in your care is best decision I’ve ever made. Better than when I skydived in Dubai.” 

“Wait, you skydived?!” 

“Yeah. 13,000 feet. I now know what clouds taste like.” 

Mina should really be used to this but, “What?” 

Momo ignores her and drops herself on the couch. “Oh, I got you something.” She takes out a bottle of makgeolli from her bag. “Here.”

“Isn’t this from Dubu’s?” 

“Yeah, but that one’s special. She made that all by herself in Iceland. Well, Chaeng and I helped but it’s mostly Dubu.” 

“You were with DubChaeng in Iceland?” 

Momo nods while she reads the PDA monthly journal. The younger Japanese joins her on the couch and stares at the makgeolli bottle she’s holding. The sticker has Dahyun’s signature Tofu logo that Chaeyoung drew back in college. 

“What’s with everyone coming back all at the same time?” Mina almost whispered. 

“Comeback season.” Momo answered, still browsing through the journal. 

Mina looks at the Japanese dancer seriously. “You know what I mean, right?” 

“Ah-huh. You meant Nayeon.” 

“Did you know where she was all this time?” 

Momo closed the journal and placed it on the coffee table. “I found out about two years ago when she messaged me.” 

“And you didn’t tell me?!” Mina feels betrayed. “You know how I went crazy searching for her.” 

“I also know you were in a relationship. You still are.” 

“But I’m your best friend.” 

“And she’s my sister.” Momo scoots closer and wraps her arms around Mina’s body. ”Look, what happened was between the two of you. Although most of our friends were involved too. But I didn’t want to have to choose a side. So I decided to just not mention anything to either of you.” 

Momo has point and Mina knows it. Besides, what would she have done if Momo told sooner? Would she leave everything behind and follow Nayeon? 

_Probably._

_No, wrong answer._

“Are you mad at me?” Momo pouts. “Cause I just got home and I have many funny anecdotes that you’re going to want to hear.”

***

_Tzu’s_ closed for the day so the café owner decided to bring lunch to the Creepy House and spend some time with Nayeon. She also knew her unnie would want to talk about the night she basically pushed Mina to go see her. She was excited to know what happened but to her dismay, the women weren’t able to actually talk. Nayeon mentioned something about Mina getting a phone call from her fiancé which led her to ask a few questions about Zakizaki lady instead. 

“Sana unnie’s a song writer.” Tzuyu answers while she cleans up the take out boxes. “She wrote a lot of songs for different idols but she’s working exclusively for Jihyo now. You know her, right?” 

“Park Jihyo? Of course I know her. I still follow KPop, you know.” Nayeon stated while finishing Jayjay’s milkshake. “ _Sunset’s_ been on my playlist since it was released.” 

“Well, Sana unnie wrote that song.” Tzuyu said, looking at her unnie directly in the eye. “They say she wrote it for her fiancé.” 

“Oh. Mina still loves sunsets.” Nayeon mumbled under her breath. _Better remove it from my playlist then._

Nayeon finishes the milkshake just as Jayjay comes running to her holding out a piece of paper, showing her his drawings.

“Look! I made you and Papa and noona.” 

Nayeon picks up her little prince and sits him on her lap. The drawing shows stick figures of three people holding hands. From the left side she can see a man with glasses and a weird looking stethoscope, so that’s Jackson for sure. Then a girl with three strands of brown hair and two large teeth should be her. And lastly a tall stick figure wearing an apron would be his giant noona, Tzuyu. 

Nayeon looked closely and pointed to the weird looking white and brown spiky ball beside Tzuyu’s image. “What’s this?” 

“Gucci.” Jayjay proudly smiled at her. “Can I get a Gucci too? I will let him eat everyday and take care of him and let him sleep on my bed.” 

Nayeon thinks for a moment. She was already considering of getting him a pet especially after seeing how gentle he was with Gucci, Tzuyu's chihuahua, but she wanted to wait until the renovations are completed. “Sure. We’ll see some Guccies tomorrow, okay?” 

“YAY!” Jayjay was beyond excited, almost crushing Nayeon’s chest when he hugged her. 

She kissed the top of his head, soft curls tickled her cheek. “You’re my favorite.” She said lovingly. “Give me a kiss.” 

The little prince squished Nayeon’s face before kissing her. “You’re my favorite too, Mama.” Jayjay squirms out of Nayeon’s hold and started dancing around weirdly. “Noona! I’m getting a Gucci!” 

Tzuyu laughs at the boy’s antics. He clearly got those from Nayeon and judging from the way her unnie’s watching him, she knows Nayeon wouldn’t want to have it any other way. 

She joins Nayeon on the steps while the older Korean takes photos of Jayjay. He’s now drawing another white and brown spiky ball on his masterpiece. 

Tzuyu snatched the Nayeon’s phone before she can put away and started tapping on the screen. 

“Unnie, you need to talk to her about everything.” Tzuyu hands her back the phone that now has Mina’s information saved. “It’s long overdue. You owe her an explanation, a closure.”

***

Mina decided to take a few days off and fly to Osaka anyway. Sana needs her and she needs to get away from Seoul. Her mind’s been clouded with so many things and now that Momo’s back she can remove the dance studio from her list of worries. 

A few days away should clear her mind. 

She walks out of her apartment building looking for her ride when she spots her. The reason she needed to clear her mind. 

“Hey.” Nayeon waves. 

“I’m leaving.” 

“I can see that.” Nayeon pushed herself off the car she was leaning on. She knows Mina’s in panic mode so she carefully approached her. “If you have a few minutes, I think we need to talk.” 

_Stop panicking._ Mina exhales. “I can’t talk right now. I’m going to Osaka.” Nodding to the suitcase she’s carrying. 

“Oh, uh, do you need a ride to the airport?” 

A taxi honks, getting the women’s attentions. “No, I already called a taxi.” 

Nayeon nods in understanding as Mina walks to the waiting car, handing her suitcase to the driver who helped her put it the trunk. 

The Japanese princess gives her a small bow before getting on the taxi. 

Nayeon was ready to leave when Mina rolls the window down. “Let’s talk when I come back.” 

“Okay.” 

“Okay.” 

Another moment passed where they just stared at each other. 

Nayeon was the first to break the staring contest and clears her throat. “Have a safe flight.” 

She ran a hand through her hair when the taxi finally left, letting out a sigh of relief. She was so nervous coming here to see Mina. But Tzuyu's right, it's long overdue, and Nayeon has a lot of explaining to do. _But how will Mina react?_

Nayeon caught sight of the small scar on her left wrist. When broken bones heal they leave a scar, but what about broken hearts?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still unbeta-ed. I hope you liked this chapter cause I was excited with this one. I think this is the longest flashback I've written so far. Yay.  
> I hope it answered a few questions.  
> Did you see that Im-Hirai kind of relationship coming?  
> \m/ I really enjoy reading the comments. And please don't be like Nayeon, when you see something like that just call the authority, protect yourselves. Thank you :)  
> 


	6. Different sides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming back from hiatus.  
> Still unbeta-ed.  
> :)

_Flashback_

_It’s different everytime. The view always changes. Sometimes clouds hide all the stars but most nights, like tonight, clouds are nowhere to be found. Nayeon prefers it like this. She’s been up for over two hours now, enjoying the stillness of the sleeping world after stealing a wine bottle from the Mr. Hirai’s liquor cabinet. It’s pretty cold outside but the alcohol’s warming her up inside._

_Nayeon takes a deep breath and leans back on the walls when she hears light footsteps coming from inside the penthouse. No one should be up at this hour on a Saturday morning. Her mother and Mr. Hirai should still be sleeping after coming home late from their date night. She swears those two are still high schoolers with the way the smother each other with date nights. Momo always sleeps until noon during the weekends. Maybe she woke up to get some early morning snacks or something._

_She never expected to see Mina quietly walking out to the terrace._

_Mina calmly stares out into the dark sky, breathing in fresh, fine dust free morning air._

_“Why are you here?” Nayeon said rather loudly, fully intended to scare the young Japanese._

_“Oh fuck!” Mina almost jumped out of her skin. “You scared the shit out of me!”_

_“So, the Princess knows how to cuss.” There’s that nickname again._

_Mina glares at Nayeon, still not over the fact that she almost got a heart attack. “What are you doing out here?”_

_“It’s my house. I can do whatever I want, wherever I want.” Nayeon shrugged. “The more important question is why are you here?”_

_“Momo and I had a sleepover.”_

_"Ha!" Nayeon bursts into laughter. “Aren’t you too old for that?!”_

_Mina rolls her eyes. Yes, she knows it’s weird that they still have sleepovers, but Momo insisted and she’s not going to deny her best friend’s wishes. She decides to change the subject. “It’s four in the morning. On a Saturday. Why are you up so early?”_

_“Sunrise.” The Korean girl nodded to the horizon._

_“I prefer sunsets.” Mina said quietly._

_Nayeon just squinted at Mina. She’s not sure why this girl is sharing that information when she didn’t really have to know it._

_The Japanese girl looks back at Nayeon and sees a bottle of wine hidden on her side._

_“You know, I used to hide my drinking from my parents too.” She leaned her back on the railings to face Nayeon. “Then I came up with a better way of doing it. Now, I drink wine from coffee mugs. That way even when I walk around the house, it’ll look like I’m just carrying coffee all day. And if anyone asks, I can always say I just woke up.”_

_“Myoi Mina, teaching me her ways. Tell me more, senpai.” Nayeon jokes. ”Want some?” Offering her a drink._

_“I better not.” Mina shakes her head, it’s too early._

_“Okay.” Nayeon stretched her legs out, adjusting the way she was sitting on the small bench. “More for me then.”_

_Mina reconsiders the offer. It’s the weekend anyway and this is the first time Nayeon offered her anything. “Eh. Sure, why not.”_

_Nayeon scoots a little as Mina sits beside her. She hands the girl the glass and pours the wine once she’s seated._

_Mina eyed Nayeon. “See, I’m not delicate.”_

_Nayeon laughs while she drinks straight from the bottle. “Okay.”_

_“Can we be friends now?”_

_The Korean looks at her for a moment. She wonders why Mina insists of being her friend. Is it because she witnessed her car getting trashed and her wrist getting broken? Is it because she found out she’s her best friend’s step-sister? How many moles does she have on her face? So far, she counted four; one on her forehead, one on the bridge of her nose and two around her lips. Her lips are cute. What?_

_Nayeon shakes the thoughts off her head and looks away without answering Mina. It would definitely be a bad idea to be friends._

_***_

_Winter break is just around the corner and everyone in uni is cramming for the end of semester exams. Almost half of the student body are overstaying at the library before the holiday. But not Mina. She knows better than to show up unprepared when her mother’s reputation is also on the line. She’s passed all her required papers days before they’re due and aced all her exams. She’s got time on her hands now and she’s using it to ~~stalk~~ check up on Nayeon._

_After that morning when they stayed up until sunrise, Nayeon went back to ignoring her. She wonders what changed._

_Though the Korean didn’t give her answer when she asked about them becoming friends, she assumed everything was okay between them when she left the Im-Hirai penthouse. Why did she even want to be friends with her? Maybe it’s because she thinks Nayeon is quite different from the girl in the stories everyone’s telling her._

_Or maybe she wants to see if the all stories were true._

_Well, some of them are._

_On Monday, Mina watched Nayeon walked out of another empty classroom followed by a girl she thinks is part of the uni’s volleyball team. On Tuesday, it was the popular Chanel girl from her Accounting class. Wednesday could be the Korean’s rest day or something because Mina found her in the student lounge with three other girls – two of them she recognized as DubChaeng. Then, Nayeon was back doing her thing on Thursday only this time it was with a boy from the basketball team. Right, Mina almost forgot that Nayeon still likes boys._

_Finally on Friday lunch break, she saw Nayeon clinging onto a tall girl who, based on what Momo said, was Nayeon’s baby. Like, Nayeon literally babies this girl._

_Even with a broken wrist, Nayeon still manages to have her afternoon specials and Mina’s not sure if she’s weirded out or impressed. She now believes that Nayeon can really have her way with people and get what she wants._

_So, it was a surprise when she sees the Korean hanging out at the school parking when almost all the kids have already left the campus._

_“Why are you still here?” She unlocks her car which she would always park beside Momo’s pink one._

_“Waiting.” Nayeon’s really not a big fan of waiting. “Have you seen Hirai?”_

_“Yeah, she already left. Someone picked her up after practice. She said they have like, a date or something. Why?” She opens the car door and carefully puts her bag in the backseat._

_“What?! She was my ride home.” Nayeon said in an exasperated tone. “I know I should’ve killed her I got the chance.”_

_“I can drive you to your house. It’s on the way to mine anyway.”_

_Mina was half expecting her to decline the offer but without any other word, Nayeon gets up from the bench and walks to the passenger side of the car. She gets in, secures herself with the seatbelt and waits as the Japanese quietly adjusts in her seat._

_“Do you want to listen to music?”_

_“It’s your car. You can do whatever you do when you drive home. Pretend I’m not here.”_

_“Okay.”_

_The drive to the Im-Hirai residential building was quiet. Nayeon didn’t say anything else until Mina pulled over. She was struggling to unlock the seatbelt when she felt Mina’s warm hands on hers. This is definitely not the first time the Japanese touched her hands, but this is the first that it registered in Nayeon’s brain just how warm Mina’s hands are. So warm. Nayeon pulls her hand away, allowing Mina to remove her seatbelt with ease before quickly hopping off the car._

_“Thanks.” Nayeon said, still holding the door open._

_Mina smiles. “You’re welcome. And please don’t kill Momo.”_

_“No promises, Princess.”_

_Mina’s smile got wider when she heard that nickname from Nayeon. Sure, she and Momo had an inside joke about the Japanese dancer calling her that. But it hits differently when it comes from this Korean girl – like how she starts to get nauseous and her throat begins to feel like it's burning._

_She doesn’t know why she’s getting all these weird feelings and she’s definitely not ready to deal with any of it right now, but she sure wouldn’t mind driving Nayeon home anytime._

_***_

_Nayeon spends her free time at the student lounge with the SMC. She’d rather spend it alone and away from uni but her car is still at the repair shop and it’s not like she can drive with a broken wrist anyway. On the bright side, she gets to be pampered by the younger girls – bringing her food, carrying her things. She feels like a mafia boss with three baby henchmen at her beck and call._

_Chaeyoung and Dahyun are busy drawing random designs on her cast while she helps Tzuyu go over the younger girl’s Accounting papers when two Japanese girls approach their table._

_“Dubu! Just the girl I’m looking for.” Momo sits on the table smiling at Dahyun._

_Mina gives Nayeon a smile and the Korean acknowledges her with a nod._

_“What can I do for you, unnie?” Dahyun asks, still doodling on Nayeon’s cast._

_“Can you hook me up with your alcohol connections? My parent’s liquor cabinet’s a little bit empty and I’m going to need a lot for my house party."_

_Nayeon pulls her casted wrist away from the wonder twins and glares at Momo. “We are not in high school anymore, Hirai. You can’t just throw a house party just cause our parents will be gone for the weekend.”_

_Dahyun leans in with her chin resting on her hands. “Ooooh, a house party. I’m in.”_

_“Perfect!” Momo clapped her hands._

_“Hirai! You’re not listening to me.”_

_“I am! You said we’re not in high school anymore which is pretty obvious since we are in college.”_

_“You’re. Not. Throwing. A party. At. My. House.” Nayeon emphasized each word._

_“Im, relax. It’s just going to be a few people. Trust me. It’ll be fun.”_

_***_

_She looks around the penthouse filled with college students who are dancing around each other’s body, drinking different kinds of liquor – Dahyun’s got the best connection – and raiding the kitchen for something to eat. Momo’s idea of a few people is roughly around fifty kids._

_Great, Nayeon groans._

_She finds Tzuyu with Dahyun and Chaeyoung on the couch chatting with Momo and placing bets on random things._

_“Tzuyu, you’re sleeping here tonight. Okay?” Nayeon calls out as she approached the couch. “I don’t care if you’re going to get drunk or not, you’re sleeping here.” She nodded at the two younger girls. “You two, one of you better be sober enough to drive back to your dorm.”_

_“That’ll be me.” Chaeyoung raised her hand. “Dub’s already downed two bottles of makgeolli on our way here.”_

_“No fair!” Dahyun whines incoherently. “Why does Tzuyu gets to stay?”_

_“Because she’s Nayeon’s baby.” Momo answered nonchalantly._

_The older Korean rolled her eyes. “That’s just how it is.”_

_Tzuyu gives her unnie a nod in agreement before Nayeon walks away. She wants to get out the house. Partying used to be her code of living back in high school but after discovering the creepy house she changed her ways._

_The Creepy House. Perfect. Now she knows where to go, but she needs to go to the bathroom first._

_Nayeon hears someone clears their throat as soon as she locked the bathroom door behind her. She turns around and sees Mina sitting on the closed toilet, giving her a little wave._

_“Are you drunk?”_

_“No.” Mina shakes her head with her lips pressed tightly together, her cheeks are puffing out._

_~~Cute~~ _ _Not cute, Nayeon reminded herself. “What are you doing here?” Half of their interactions seem to always involve one of them wondering what the other is doing in the same space._

_Mina nods to the door. “I don’t know most of the people out there.”_

_“Most of them attended the same high school with me and Momo.” Nayeon leans on back on the sink. “Why did you even come to this party if you’re just going to hide here?”_

_“Best friend duties.”_

_“Ah! Well, your best friend’s out there probably eating paper for a dare.”_

_“You're so mean.” But Mina chuckles because that’s not far from happening._

_Nayeon reconsiders her plans of going out for a moment. “Come with me.”_

_“Where are we going?” Mina furrowed her perfect eyebrows._

_“Peace and quiet.”_

_***_

_Mina looks around the living room of the Creepy House. It’s mostly empty and the remaining furniture’s covered with white linen. Surprisingly though, the house is not giving her any creepy, scary feelings._

_She sits on a large wing chair across Nayeon who’s lying on a couch. “Are you sure we’re allowed to be here?”_

_“Hmm.” Nayeon hummed in response, lying on top of the linen with her right arms under her head and the casted one resting on her stomach. “This house is abandoned. No one lives here anymore.”_

_“But that doesn’t mean that no one owns it. The owner might catch us trespassing. Nayeon, we might get arrested.”_

_“We might.” Nayeon shrugs. “Look, I’ve been here many times before. Even slept here a couple of night already. No one comes here anymore.” She turns to look at Mina who still has worry written all over her face. “I wouldn’t bring you here if it’s going to get you into trouble.”_

_Nayeon’s right. Why would she even bring Mina somewhere dangerous, right? Why did Mina even go with her without knowing where they were going? Mina exhales. She didn’t mean to doubt the girl. It’s just that Mina grew up following a strict set of rules._

_“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to –“_

_“Shhh. Let’s just enjoy this peace and quiet.” Nayeon said immediately silencing the embarrassed Japanese._

_Mina adjusts her body on the chair so she’s also lying on her back, with her head on the left leather covered armrest and her legs dangling on the other side. She stares at the ceiling and finds it fascinating that the hole where a chandelier used to hang now displays severed electrical wires that had somehow formed into a ball resembling a light bulb._

_Some things are just meant to be where they’re meant to be._

_“This house had always been called the Creepy House. I was scared to even walk the streets in front of it when I was younger until I saw how beautiful it is inside.” Nayeon laughs at the memory, effectively breaking the silence she initially demanded._

_Mina hears the rustling of the linen which could only mean that Nayeon had changed her position on the couch._

_“I come here everytime I need to just get away from everything and everyone.” Nayeon continued. “Gives me time to just think, you know, get a clearer perspective.”_

_Mina watched as Nayeon’s face lights up while talking. She’s never seen her this... calm. “You know they say you’re the rebel, dangerous kind. But I don’t see it. You’re actually quite different from those stories they tell about you.”_

_“And by they, you mean Momo. Anyway, most of the things you heard about me are true. You just don’t know me that long enough, Princess.”_

_“I have time.”_

_Nayeon pretends not to hear what Mina said because she doesn’t know how to react to it. She just stayed silent. Thankfully, Mina also remained silent for the rest of the evening. She could’ve just left the Japanese girl back at the party. Why did she even bring her here? Tzuyu was the only other person Nayeon trusted enough to show this place to. Does this mean she trust Mina now?_

_***_

_**MN:** _

_Nayeon_

_**NY:** _

_?_

_**MN:** _

_It’s Mina_

_Momo gave me your number_

_She left early so I’ll give you a ride home :)_

_**NY:** _

_K_

*

_Well that was annoying, Mina thought as she stares at her phone. It took her almost half an hour to compose a text message, not wanting to come off too excited and Nayeon replied almost immediately with just a question mark and a letter? It’s almost as if the Korean girl didn’t even care enough to think of what to reply._

_The young Japanese spent the hour of her Economics class going over different scenarios why Nayeon could only send a one-character-reply to her. It’s not that she’s expecting a heartfelt response – she’s not even sure what she’s expecting but it’s definitely more than just one character._

_Why is she even thinking about this? Sure, it’s nice to have other friends here in uni aside from Momo but why is she insisting on this one girl? She looks around the room and checks everyone in her class. They all look harmless and decent. And boring. And Nayeon’s not boring. Far from it. She’s pretty much the most exciting person Mina’s ever met. Complex even. Her curiosity is getting the best of her and it’s definitely going to get her into trouble._

_The bell rings and Mina didn’t expect to see Nayeon standing by the door, obviously waiting for her._

_“This is your last class today, right? I need to go to see my doctor for a follow up. Let’s go.”_

_“Okay.” Actually, Mina had planned to meet the girl at the parking lot since she expected that Nayeon would have a round of her after school activity first before leaving. Come to think about it, she hasn’t seen the girl come out of any empty classrooms in the past three days._

_Weird. Maybe it’s her wrist. Yes. That could be it. That’s why she needed to see the doctor today, Mina discreetly examines Nayeon’s cast while they walk out of the main building. Then her eyes travel up to the Korean’s face. This newsboy cap looks great on her, Mina thought as she checks Nayeon – No! She’s not checking her out._

_“Hey, Nayeon.” A voice called out and Mina immediately recognized it from the night Nayeon got her injury._

_Nayeon nods at Mark._

_“Hey, how are you?” Mark quickly approached the girls. “I mean… I uh, I’m really sorry about your hand. And your car. I didn’t know it was yours. They just told me to go for it and I didn’t even check the plate.” The boy almost whispered like he didn’t want other students to hear him._

_“Yeah, well it’s about time to take advantage of the insurance anyway so...” Nayeon shrugs._

_“Yeah.” He nervously laughed._

_“Hey, we’re cool.”_

_Seriously, Mina wanted to interrupt the conversation. She heard the boy, Mark, got suspended for a week, had to take several remedial classes and serve community service for the next six months as punishments for his misdemeanour. And even those punishments seem light. He injured Nayeon’s wrist. Mina thinks Nayeon may have had head injuries too with the way she’s being too nice to this boy._

_“Anyway, I just want to say sorry, again.” Mark gave a hurried bow before jogging to the opposite side of the building._

_Mina’s eyes widens when she noticed the X scar on the boy’s elbow. She remembers seeing it on the school reports her mother brought home a few days ago. “He’s in a gang, isn’t he?”_

_“Are you going to rat him out again?” Nayeon rolled her eyes and starts walking to the parking lot. She doesn’t have time for this right now. Her wrist is throbbing and she really needs to get that prescription from the doctor for her pain medications._

_“No, but he… he destroyed your car.” Mina reasoned out while trying to keep up with Nayeon’s brisk walking. “He got you injured. Who knows what else he might do?”_

_Nayeon stops dead in her tracks and turns around so fast that it caught Mina off guard. Mina would’ve bumped into Nayeon had she not stop in the last second. Thanks to many years of ballet training, her balance is impeccable._

_“You don’t know him.” Nayeon’s tone was cold. “You don’t just judge people based on how they acted that one time you saw them. There are many different sides to a person. I thought you already knew that.”_

_Nayeon feels massively disappointed. She knows not to expect much from the Japanese but the way she was talking back at the Creepy House made her think that maybe, Mina’s different. That maybe, Mina’s not like the rest of the two dimensional world they live in. That maybe, Mina can get past the façade and see what’s really inside._

_Mina feels a massive amount of guilt. She was racking her brain to come up with a solid apology when she noticed that Nayeon had started walking back to the building._

_“You’re going back to the building.” She starts panicking. “Parking lot’s this way.”_

_“You go then!” Nayeon shouted without looking back. She wants to throw a tantrum. Her wrist is starting to hurt so bad but she just can’t go with Mina now, she has too much pride for that. She can’t just pretend that that didn’t happen. Well, what did happen? Oh right, her own judgement betrayed her. Or did it? Whatever. She needs to find Tzuyu. Where the fuck isTzuyu?_

****

It was the day after Mina arrived when they received an urgent call from Osaka General at 3:12 AM regarding the condition of their beloved grandmother. 

Nana Minatozaki was a big part of hers and Sana’s relationship and was their number one supporter from the very beginning. The Minatozaki matriarch even helped her granddaughter pick the perfect engagement ring for Mina after giving her blessings, months before Sana even got down on one knee. 

The family decided to have the cremation service as soon as possible since all the immediate family members are already in Osaka. Mina held Sana the entire time. Though Sana fights so hard to keep a brave face in front of everyone, Mina can still see the way her fiancé’s lips quiver every five minutes. 

_Just let it out, Honey._

“We have to postpone the wedding. My mom’s talking to the wedding planners now. They’re getting everything rescheduled.” Sana’s voice is very hoarse due to talk of sleep and inconsistent meal hours. Ever since she arrived in Osaka, she’s never been able to stick to her usual schedule. And she’s a very organized person. “You know how my mom is. And I guess my dad’s talking to yours too.” 

“I’ll take care of the catering services.” Mina lovingly caressed Sana’s flushed cheeks. 

“Okay. I’m going to have to stay here for a while. Take care of her estate.” Sana sniffs, holding back tears. “Dad doesn’t want to deal with it right now especially his brothers are here. Things can get pretty intense really quickly with the Minatozaki brothers.” 

“I can take some more days off work and help you here. I’m sure Momo would understand.” 

“No, don’t. I’ll be fine.” 

“Honey –“ 

“No! Really. You don’t have to.” Sana cuts her off. Her eyes were bloodshot and she had been biting her lips to stop them from quivering too much. “Besides if you’re here, I won’t get anything done cause I’d just end up wanting to cuddle with you and cry and that won’t be productive at all.” 

“Sana.” Mina grabs her fiancé by the shoulders, turning her body to look at her. “You’re allowed to feel this pain. You don’t have to be brave all the time. Honey, I’m here.” She lets go of Sana’s shoulders to cup her face, forcing her to look at her eyes. “Let it out.” 

Sana nods and swallows the lumps in her throat. “Okay.” 

“Okay.” 

Then, without a warning, Sana’s entire body starts to shake uncontrollably paired with a muffled cry as she buries herself into Mina’s arms. “My Nana’s gone.” 

It breaks Mina’s heart to see someone as bubbly as her fiancé break down in to millions of pieces. Sana had always been the positive one in their relationship – the one who sees the bright side of everything. A literal ball of sunshine that brings smiles to everyone’s faces wherever she goes. This girl always had a plan B for when something goes wrong. But nothing ever prepares anyone for when they lose someone they love.

***

The Creepy House at the end of the road – Nayeon’s ~~second~~ ultimate dream – sits on a 260 sq.m. piece of land with a floor plan about two-thirds of it. One of the property's best features is its landscape. Nayeon loves the fact that the previous owners didn’t cut down the huge tree and she plans on building a day bed under it for when she wants to hang outside while Jayjay plays in the spacious backyard. 

Even with its exterior paint being scrubbed off, roof shingles being carefully laid on top of one another and floor tiles being stripped off to replace it with wooden planks, Nayeon had never seen a more beautiful house.

 _And it’s mine._

She was putting on her working gloves, ready to put the backsplash in the kitchen when she noticed one of the customized windows she had ordered for all of the bedrooms upstairs, is still propped up on the side of the fence. 

“Mr. Lee!” She called out for the foreman. _He’s got to be around_.

Entering the kitchen, she finds the old man going over the materials for reinstalling the kitchen island and sink.

"Mr. Lee! There you are. Was there an error with the number of windows we ordered? I thought we’ve already installed them but there’s still one out front. Did they send an extra?” 

“The order was correct but we can’t start drilling that hole upstairs to put up that window.” 

“Why? Is it the electrical? We went over the wiring plan multiple times, right?” Nayeon looks for the said home wiring plan to check it for the nth time. “There shouldn’t be anything on that wall. It should be safe to just smash through it.” 

“No, it’s completely safe.” Mr. Lee chuckles nervously, looking at Nayeon with an uncomfortable smile. “But your friends won’t leave the room.” 

“What? What do you mean?” She was confused until her brain jump starts and it dawns on her what or rather _who_ the old man was referring to _._ Nayeon lets out an exasperated sigh, giving Mr. Lee a polite bow before walking upstairs to see what said _friends_ are up to. 

There are three bedrooms on the second floor including the master bedroom which is situated on the right wing of the house. Right beside it is a bedroom with a letter J painted on the door – little Jayjay’s room – and that’s where she can hear the music mixed with giggles come from. 

The door's already opened and she finds Momo and Chaeyoung using the wall as a huge canvass for doodles while Dahyun’s sitting at the corner, drinking from a sippy cup. _I hope that’s not makgeolli._

Nayeon stands with her hands on her hips, like a mother who just caught her kids doing something naughty. “What are you doing?!”

“What does it look like we’re doing? We’re helping you out.” Momo waives a paint brush at her. “This way, little Prince’s room would be filled with more lively colors. Unlike the serious boring tone you’ve set for the entire house.” 

“What’s wrong with alabaster? It’s easier to maintain, it goes really well with the dark wood and I’ll have you know it’s timeless.” 

“Are we talking about food now?” Dahyun sits up to lower the volume of the speaker she and Chaeyoung brought with them. “Did you say lobster?” 

“Alabaster, Dubs. The color.” Chaeyoung answers. 

“Ah.” 

“Im! It’s boring!” Momo faced Nayeon and matched her stance. “You’ve become one of those boring eastsider, PTA, cookie-baking-moms with their boring color choices. And these are all organic paints. A lot safer for the little Jayjay’s health.” 

“Whatever. My point is, if you want to vandalize my kid’s room you could’ve at least done it on the right wall.” Nayeon walks towards the wall to check if the paint was indeed organic. Well, it’s odorless. Trust Momo to find the best non-toxic, eco-friendly, organic products there is. “We’re supposed to punch a hole here today, but thanks to you two –“ 

Dahyun clears her throat loudly. 

“Three,” Of course, how can Nayeon forget her. She’s so used to calling them DubChaeng that she actually already counts them as one. “We’re now off schedule.” 

“Tzuyu did tell them to ask you first.” Dahyun revealed. 

Nayeon raised her eyebrow and points at Momo accusingly. “And you didn’t listen to Tzuyu because…?” 

“Because she’s not the boss of me and I wanted to surprise you.” 

“And Chaeng got excited when Momo unnie brought the paints in and then forgot all about Tzu.” Dahyun spoke again. It’s like she’s telling on her two other friends. 

“Why did you have to _punch_ a hole on this wall anyway?” Momo starts dusting herself off. “There’s huge window right there. With a great view too.” 

There’s only one answer why Nayeon insisted on having a window on this side. “This where the sun rises.” 

“Still a fan, I see. Some things never change.” 

“Nayeon unnie,” Chaeyoung calls out while she takes a photo of her work so she can add it in her online portfolio. She’s gotten so much better with her crafts and is now a famous personality in the modern art world under a pseudonym. She’s like a female Banksy, without the sneaking into museums and political propaganda. “I can still do the other wall, right?” 

Nayeon exhales. She was going to challenge Momo’s _some things never change_ theory and she can see that her step-sister was expecting her to but, yeah, not today. Maybe some other time. 

She walks to the younger woman and ruffles her e-girl hairstyle. Chaeyoung’s arts had always been a bit hard to understand but her talent is indisputable. And having the most sought after artist work on her son’s room _for free_ is an opportunity of a lifetime. “You can do the entire room if you want to. Just no jack frost, knitted lips doodles. I don’t think Jayjay’s ready for that yet. Now get out of here so we can start working.” 

The artist clicks her tongue in agreement before fist bumping with Dahyun, who hadn’t moved from her seat, still drinking from her sippy cup. 

“And you?” Nayeon helps Momo clear out the rest of the painting tools. “Shouldn’t you be at your dance studio? Dancing? Teaching?” 

“I can take some days off like a regular employee too. And Mina’s back from Japan. She handles the studio way better than anyone could.” 

“Oh, she’s back already.” Nayeon whispered to herself. 

Momo felt the shift in Nayeon’s mood, so did the wonder twins. 

“Well, it’s almost lunch time, right?” Dahyun jumps off the chair. “Awesome unnies, do you want us to buy you something to eat? Something from Tzu’s?” 

“Sure.” Nayeon chuckles at Dahyun’s smooth yet obvious way of distracting her. “And don’t disturb that poor girl. She could be busy baking cakes for a wedding or something.” 

“I don’t think Tzu does the baking. She has bakers to actually do that job.” Momo pointed out. “And besides she’s not going to be making any wedding cakes anytime soon.” 

Nayeon stops what she was doing and turns around to face Momo. Dahyun thinks that turn was way too dramatic. “What?” 

“Tzu hasn’t told you yet, huh?” Momo takes the seat Dahyun was occupying a few minutes earlier. “That’s expected of her since she’s the most considerate person in this town.” 

“Told me what?“ Nayeon pressed. 

“Sana’s grandmother passed away a few days ago. They can’t have a wedding until at least next year cause, you know, traditions. So the wedding’s postponed.” 

Nayeon’s heart starts racing.

***

_3T Entertainment_ is the leading agency in the country when it comes to producing award winning and record breaking talents. From actors, TV hosts, to bands and solo acts, 3T Ent. is considered to be the strongest pillar in the entertainment industry. And one of the best talents that ever came out of their training program is _Jihyo_ – no last name needed. 

Mina stares at the huge poster of Jihyo at the lobby. She thinks that the singer totally deserves the biggest space on the walls of their company given that she’s their biggest star. She remembers the first time they met. 

It was four years ago when Mina first walked into this building. She was with Momo, helping her best friend promote the dancers from PDA, hoping to also snag a few spots for Jihyo’s upcoming music video. They met up with KPop Idol herself, Jeongyeon, the manager and Sana, the bubbly songwriter who immediately took notice of Mina.

That day, Momo walked out of 3T Ent. with a choreography gig and Mina with a new phone number added to her contacts. 

Mina won’t deny the fact that she made it quite hard for Sana but, can you really blame her? Mina was so broken back then that she found it hard to trust anyone else. Thinking everyone else would just leave her right when things are about to get really serious. But Sana proved her wrong with her exceptional patience. It was almost a year of casual meet ups when they finally made it official then two years after that, Sana popped the question. 

Sana made her feel a lot of things she never thought she’d experience again – made her realize she can be whole again after Nayeon left. _And now she’s back._

“Mina!” Jihyo runs out of the elevator to hug Mina as soon as she saw the Japanese at the lobby. “I’m so sorry about what happened. You okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Mina smiles. “Thanks.” 

“Hey, Mina.” Jeongyeon gives her a small bow. “How’s our little Sami doing?”

“Coping. She's taking it one day at a time.” Mina also bows. Even after hearing it many times in the past, Mina still can’t get over the nickname the management had given her fiancé. “She asked me to bring these in for you guys.” She hands over folders of Sana’s notes from the apartment. 

“She’s so old school.” Jeongyeon grabs the folders and scans the lyric notes Sana had written. “Please please _please_ urge her to use voice memos instead. It’s going to be more convenient for her. For all of us.” 

“Good luck with that. That girl loves handwritten notes. She’s a romantic.” Jihyo stated. “You know.” She nods at Mina. 

“Yeah.” The hundreds of love letters that Sana gave Mina over the years were proof of the songwriter's love for calligraphy. “Jihyo, I know your album’s on a tight schedule but I was wondering if you can give Sana more days off.” 

“I totally understand and I’m way ahead of you. I talked to the PDs and I already called Sattang this morning. So, if you want to fly her out to Bali or somewhere, you can.” 

“Oh. Thank you.” Bali holds a special place in Mina and Sana's relationship and it may not be a bad idea to go there for some downtime. 

“She’s my bestfriend. I’d do anything for her.” Jihyo and Sana’s friendship is kind of like hers and Momo. The two girls go way back and Sana even played a major role in launching Jihyo’s career. 

And Mina didn’t miss the way Jeongyeon’s eyebrows arched upon hearing what the singer said. 

Jihyo pulls Mina for a side hug as they walk to the company’s public café. “And I’m still singing at your wedding when everything’s settled, okay?”

Employees and other idols that can see them must be so baffled. Jihyo, the nation’s golden voice, was known for being against skinship yet here she is, having no problem embracing a non-celebrity in public. Jihyo’s real life personality is different from her public persona. 

And that didn't suprise Mina at all because as she had learned a long time ago, there are many different sides to a person. You just have to see past the façade.

***

Ballet will always be Mina's first love. She makes sure she gets to practice it every night after the last class at studio ends – which is normally at 7 PM. Dancing had always helped clear her mind but it doesn’t seem to be working tonight. Instead, it’s even bringing back memories of her junior year in college when she was tapped to play the lead role for the uni’s adaptation of Black Swan in partnership with the city council’s holiday committee. 

All the good and bad memories of that production. And it doesn’t help that she’s currently wearing the very same ballet shoes she wore on the opening night. _God, that was a crazy year._

She’s having a hard time focusing so she decides to just call it a night – she’s been going at it for over an hour anyway. 

It’s already 9:30 PM when she finally locks the doors of the dance studio, typing a text message to Momo when she saw Nayeon sitting on the bench outside, obviously waiting for her. Mina hits the send button as she watched girl got up and walked closer.

“I’m guessing you’re here to talk.” 

“Yeah. No. I heard what happened. Momo told me.” 

“Of course she did.” She actually expected Nayeon to hear it from Tzuyu since she was the first person Mina contacted before telling her own best friend.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Nayeon’s first instinct was to hug her – something she had become accustomed to after living in the US for six years but of course, she can’t just do that here. Not only would it too forward, Nayeon’s also not sure if Mina even wants to see her so she settles for a polite bow. “How – how’s she? Your fiancé?” She asked while lightly scratching the tip of her nose. 

_Typical._ “Her name’s Sana. She’s coping.” It’s surprising that Mina can still tell when Nayeon actually already knew something but would play dumb just to appear as though it’s not that important to her. “Can we talk another time? I’m tired.” 

“Yeah, of course.” The Korean nods, slipping her hands into her coats jacket. It’s quite chilly tonight. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” 

“I’m not, but thanks for checking. I have to go.” Mina said before walking to the parking lot. Seeing this worried side of Nayeon is making her feel more overwhelmed than before and she’s not ready to deal with it tonight. All she wants to do is to get home as quickly as possible, pour herself a large mug of wine and hope for a good night's sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally.  
> It took a while for this AU to be updated but it's now back from hiatus.  
> Yay.  
> As you may already know most of the chapters are going to have flashbacks and I hope it's not going to be too confusing.  
> Let me know what you think.


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